Hurricanes, climate change and the cholera epidemic in Puerto Rico of 1855-1856
Christenson, B.
Boletin de la Asociacion Medica de Puerto Rico 100(4): 99-101
2008
ISSN/ISBN: 0004-4849 PMID: 19400536 Document Number: 702459
Hurricanes and global climate changes may affect the environmental factors of cholera dynamics in warm coastal areas, vulnerable to seasonal or sporadic outbreaks. The cholera epidemic of Puerto Rico in 1855-1856 had a profound effect on the Puerto Rican society; but it was not influenced by any climatic events, such as preceding hurricanes or storms based on past documentary sources. Particularly, the environmental non-toxigenic strains of Vibrio Cholerae in Puerto Rican water sources can maintain their pathogenic potential for sporadic or erratic toxigenic cholera outbreaks--if a "perfect storm" ever occurs.
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