His research led the Lasker Foundation to award him its prize in 1967.More recently, in 2002, Alam, et al., studied stool samples from patients at the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease in Dhaka, Bangladesh. From the various experiments they conducted, the researchers found a correlation between the passage of V. cholerae through the human digestive system and an increased infectivity state. Furthermore, the researchers found the bacterium creates a hyperinfected state where genes that control biosynthesis of amino acids, iron uptake systems, and formation of periplasmic nitrate reductase complexes were induced just before defecation. These induced characteristics allow the cholera vibrios to survive in the "rice water" stools, an environment of limited oxygen and iron, of patients with a cholera infection. Global Strategy
In 2017, the WHO launched the "Ending Cholera: a global roadmap to 2030" strategy which aims to reduce cholera deaths by 90% by 2030. The strategy was developed by the Global Task Force on Cholera Control (GTFCC) which develops country-specific plans and monitors progress. The approach to achieve this goal combines surveillance, water sanitation, rehydration treatment and oral vaccines. Specifically, the control strategy focuses on three approaches: i) early detection and response to outbreaks to contain outbreaks, ii) stopping cholera transmission through improved sanitation and vaccines in hotspots, and iii) a global framework for cholera control through the GTFCC.The WHO and the GTFCC do not consider global cholera eradication a viable goal. Even though humans are the only host of cholera, the bacterium can persist in the environment without a human host.
Polycarbophil calcium (INN) is a drug used as a stool stabilizer. Chemically, it is a synthetic polymer of polyacrylic acid cross-linked with divinyl glycol, with calcium as a counter-ion. Clinical uses
It is used as stool stabilizer to treat constipation, diarrhea and abdominal discomfort. Bulk laxatives absorb liquid in the intestines and swell to form a soft bulky stool. The bulky mass stimulates the intestinal muscles, speeding stool transit time through the colon. Results usually occur within 12 to 72 hours. Calcium polycarbophil will not work without increased fluid intake. Calcium polycarbophil has been marketed as an over-the-counter agent used for treating functional bowel disorder and as a bulk-producing agent. A study looked at the effects of calcium polycarbophil on general irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms. Fourteen patients with IBS-diarrhea and twelve with IBS-constipation were given calcium polycarbophil for eight weeks and their colon transit times were measured with radiopaque markers in the colon. The patients with diarrhea reported fewer bowel movements, more solid stools and reduced abdominal pain. Patients with constipation reported more frequent bowel movements, looser stools and less pain.The human stomach presents a mild acidic environment due to the presence of HCl. Polycarbophil absorbs about ten times its own weight of water under acidic conditions, but the swelling ratio markedly increases at above pH 4.0 and reaches 70 times the initial weight under pH-neutral conditions. The swelling of polycarbophil is not affected by non-ionic osmolarity, but by ionic strength, showing a decrease with increase of ionic strength.