Oral vaccines are a great strategy and are especially beneficial in areas with poor sanitation. This form of vaccine distribution could help control the acute diarrheal disease caused by Vibrio cholera. There are an estimated 1.3 to 4 million cases and 21,000 to 143,000 deaths from cholera each year. A recent study from The Lancet Microbe finds new hope in a rice-based cholera vaccine that will fight against the diarrheal toxin without severe adverse events.
We are moving into the third week of May here in southern Wisconsin and have finally had a day or two near 80 degrees. Yesterday was a warm humid, day, the kind that makes a person think about taking a swim. I live in a city with four lakes, so a fresh water swim is never far away.
We humans have many options for keeping cool in warm weather; short and short-sleeved clothing, for instance. Dogs, on the other hand, have fewer options for cooling off. Whether dogs shed or is trimmed, they still sport a lot of fur/hair and suffer when temperatures rise. Again, thoughts turn to swimming.
In our city of lakes, when the dogs and I are walking, water is never far away. However, we generally stay out of the lakes, no matter how warm it is. We know that these lakes sometimes contain blue-green algae.
About Blue-Green Algae
Blue-green algae, also known as Cyanobacteria spp. exist around the world and are found in the fossil record, according to the Centers for Disease Control on an informational page about this organism. Fresh water, brackish water and salt water all can host cyanobacteria.
There are a number of these photosynthetic bacterial species. Several of the species found in Wisconsin include Anabaena sp., Aphanizomenon sp., Microcystis sp., and Planktothrix sp., according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR). And there are others. Continue reading “Why Not Go Swim in the Lakes”
