Scientifically Speaking: The evolving map of Cholera
The article discusses the historical and ongoing relationship between cholera bacteria and bacteriophages, viruses that prey on them. It highlights the discovery of these viruses and their role in cholera outbreaks, including recent findings on how they affect the severity of the disease. The dynamic interplay between cholera bacteria and bacteriophages continues to evolve, showcasing a complex biological arms race.
- ▪Cholera has caused seven pandemics in the last two centuries, with the most recent ongoing since 1961.
- ▪In 2023, the World Health Organization reported around 667,000 cholera cases across five regions.
- ▪Research has shown that bacteriophages can reduce the severity of cholera in infected patients.
- ▪A new antiviral defense system in cholera bacteria was observed in Bangladesh, providing them with a survival advantage against viruses.
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Scientifically Speaking: The evolving map of CholeraIn the mid-2000s, researchers showed that as cholera bacteria multiplied in waters during outbreaks, viruses that preyed on them rose in number too, apparently causing the outbreaks to endPublished on: May 25, 2026 1:02 PM ISTBy Anirban MahapatraShare viaCopy link In 1896, a British scientist named Ernest Hankin was stumped by something he noticed in the water of the Ganga and the Yamuna.Cholera has caused seven pandemics in the last two centuries. (Representative file photo)The rivers received the bodies of cholera victims. Water downstream should have been loaded with the curved bacterium that Robert Koch had identified in the early 1880s as the cause of the disease. There should be widespread outbreaks.Yet outbreaks faded quickly.
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