Cholera in Montreal: Then and Now

Canada's answer to Ellis Island: a human quarantine station at Grosse Île, just outside of Quebec City. The station was opened in 1832 in the midst of the second cholera pandemic. The disease had already reached England, and it was carried to North America on shiploads of Irish and English immigrants. Cholera would hit Quebec City and Montreal that year, and would be carried from the St. Lawrence Valley down into the United States by immigrants looking for work.

More than 6,000 people in Montreal died of cholera that first year, and the disease would return to ravage the population again in 1834 and several subsequent years. But cholera is not commonly seen in Montreal today. Caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae, it is an infection of the small intestine contracted by consuming contaminated food or water. The World Health Organization (WHO) calls the disease a continuing global threat, and "one of the key indicators of social development." ''

Cholera is generally only found in places with poor sanitation and overcrowding. It is a disease that often accompanies war, famine and natural disasters like the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Despite this fact, Montreal has a confirmed new case of cholera.

Cholera in Montreal, 2011

A woman admitted to the Ste. Justine Hospital with severe diarrhea was quarantined last month. She was rehydrated and given antibiotics, and laboratory samples were tested to confirm she had cholera. She has since been released from hospital, and medical officials are assuring the public she cannot infect others around her. The woman had recently been in Haiti, where a cholera outbreak has affected 200,000 people and killed over 4,000.

Cholera Transmission

Cholera is linked to untreated or contaminated drinking water, and to food handled by people who have not properly washed their hands. Caregivers in health and child care facilities must also practise proper hand hygiene to avoid becoming infected. The cholera bacterium lives in the human intestinal tract, and has also been found in shellfish. The 185 people in Venezuela infected with cholera apparently contracted the disease while at a wedding in the Dominican Republic. Authorities suspect tainted lobster from Haiti, which shares and island with Dominica, was the source of the infection.

The main symptoms of cholera are watery diarrhea and vomiting. The diarrhea may start suddenly, and have a "fishy" smell. Dehydration will follow, and if a severe care is not treated death can follow within 24 hours. Most people will recover fully if given adequate hydration. Access to clean water and medical care are the keys that are missing during severe cholera outbreaks. According to WHO, most people who contract the cholera bacterium will not become ill, but will be carriers of the disease for up to two weeks. This helps to explain why cholera was able to thrive in 19th century North America, despite precautions taken at Grosse Île and other quarantine areas. Otherwise healthy individuals could spread the disease in the crowded urban conditions of the day, in communities where access to clean water for washing and drinking was not guaranteed.

Sources:

Rene Bruemmer, "Hospital confirms cholera case in Montreal." Montreal Gazette

"Cholera." U.S. National Library of Medicine / National Institutes of Health

"Cholera." WHO

"Grosse Île and the Irish Memorial National Historic Site of Canada." Parks Canada

"Venezuelan cholera cases rise." Voice of America