Is cholera disease associated with poverty?

Abstract

Background: Cholera remains a global threat and is one of the key indicators of social development. While the disease no longer poses a menace to countries with minimum standards of hygiene, it remains a serious challenge to countries where access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation cannot be guaranteed. The objective of this work was to analyse the results obtained when contrasting the reports of the World Health Organization (WHO) about cholera disease with those of the World Bank List of economies (countries). Methodology: Data were obtained from reports of two international organizations, the report on cholera disease incidence of the World Health Organization and the World Bank's classification of countries attending to their income. Results: We determined that low-income countries are more affected by cholera disease than countries with middle or high income. This difference was reflected in the percent of countries, the total number of reported cases, the number of cases per 100,000 habitants, as well as in the reported mortality. These results support the phrase "cholera disease is a disease of poverty." Conclusions: We consider that economic development is an important factor in the morbidity and mortality of cholera, together with environment, climate, culture, medical management, political intention, and the intrinsic factors of the system.

The Recurrence of Cholera in the City of Lubumbashi: Investigation of Risk Factors for an Effective Response and Health Education Perspective

“…This study shows that low-income countries are more affected by cholera than those with medium or high incomes. This supports the phrase "cholera is a disease of poverty" [26]. A study conducted in Matlab, Banglandesh showed that the risk of cholera increased with low household income.…”

Review of Two Decades of Cholera Diagnostics – How Far Have We Really Come?

“…Alongside other diarrheal diseases, cholera is a major cause of preventable childhood and adult deaths in developing countries [31]–[32]. Given international attempts like the fourth millennium development goal (MDG) to reduce such burdens, it is surprising that cholera has not gained more public health attention.…”

Climate and socioeconomic influences on interannual variability of cholera in Nigeria

“…On seasonal time scales cholera, as other diseases in Nigeria (e.g., Olouko et al, 2014), shows a seasonality with increased burdens from May to August. Additionally, social risk factors are playing an important role in transmission and outbreak of cholera, for example, the disease has been termed the 'disease of poverty' (Charles and Ryan, 2011;Snowden, 2008) and was associated with inadequate environmental sanitation conditions and untreated drinking water (e.g., Ali et al, 2002aAli et al, , 2002bHashizume et al, 2007;Penrose et al, 2010;Rajendran et al, 2011;Reiner et al, 2012;Talavera and Perez, 2009). Previous studies have demonstrated the possibility of predicting cholera epidemics (e.g., Reyburn et al, 2011), however, the importance of combining the effects of social risk factors in addition to meteorological conditions in studying the dynamics of the disease has been pointed out (e.g., Pascual et al, 2000;Chou et al, 2010).…”