Question

What further treatments beyond IV fluids and oral rehydration solutions might researchers work to develop for the treatment of cholera? Explain your rationale.

Answer 1

1) In oral rehydration therapy, water mixed with salt and glucose is used. This treatment is very effective albeit glucose content increse toxicity of bacterium because glucose is utilized by bacterium that increase toxin gene activity. So, further research needed to replace glucose with other carbohydrate to overcome the side effect of glucose. Some researchers replaced glucose with starch from rice and found that use of starch reduce the activity of toxin gene. So, this kind of research further needed for improvement in treatment of cholera.

2) Cholera is an acute disease caused by bacterium Vibrio cholerae. This bacteria cause infection in intestine, so one research option is to find factors that involve in early step of intestinal colonization process, so bacteria could pass harmlessly through the body . Researchers could develop a antibody directly against these factors. This strategy has strong potential for vaccine and therapeutic development.