Cholera in Boston?

The Boston Globe recently wrote an article on a total of six possible cases of Cholera in Boston. The article is called “2d cholera case confirmed, 4 others in Bay State suspected of having disease” by Stephen Smith. The article can be found here. It seems unlikely that a city like Boston would have any patients with Cholera at all, yet in the past week there have been two confirmed cases and four others being tested for having Cholera. All the patients had recently traveled to the Dominican Republic for a lavish wedding at a five star hotel. But the guest took home an unexpected reminder of the wedding, the germs causing Cholera.

Even though the Dominican Republic is thousands of miles away from Boston, the disease has found its way into Massachusetts because of International travel. Cholera is often associated with developing countries because of the lack of sanitation that can spread Cholera. Cholera is spread through contaminated water, which is often found in developing countries like the Dominican Republic. Somehow contaminated water was used to prepare food for the guests at the wedding, and therefore Cholera was unknowingly spread. The exact source of the contamination is unknown but it is suspected that it was brought in from the outside catering company hired by the couple. Guest traveled from all over the world to attend this wedding and possibly all took home with them Cholera and are possibly spreading it to others. But the article states from Dr. Larry Madoff that “all are recovering, and there is no evidence the disease is spreading in Massachusetts”.

It seems unlikely that a disease such as Cholera could be found in such a developed country such as the United States. But International travel has put those who enjoy traveling to other countries at risk for diseases they most likely would never contract back in the United States. The author, Stephen Smith said “the emergence of cholera in Boston, 1,700 miles from the origin of an outbreak moving across the island of Hispaniola, illustrates the swift, relentless migration of infectious diseases in an era of widespread jet traffic”. These tourists in Dominican Republic were staying at a five star hotel and attending a lavish wedding were the thought of diseases like Cholera, never crossed their minds. But as seen here by these cases of Cholera, diseases can be found in fancy hotels. Another source, Dr. Jordan Tappero states “we’re not at all surprised that this would happen, given all the travel.’’.

It doesn’t really surprise me that these wedding guests contracted Cholera because they probably were not paying much attention to where their food and drink were coming from at such a fancy wedding. I think that this shows how International travelers who are in developing nations need to be more self-reliant and really be aware of everything they eat and drink. Visitors cannot always rely on others to make sure the water and food are safe. Do you agree, or do you think travelers should expect the hotels and caters to take care of proper sanitation? Thankfully all of people infected with Cholera recognized that they needed medical care and went to the hospital where they were successfully treated with hydration and antibiotics. These people do not need to worry about the risks often associated with Cholera because they live in America, yet those who live in the Dominican Republic may not be so lucky.