Despite the fact that cholera is no longer the plague of the humankind, it still remains a tangible threat, no matter how hard one might wish to believe that the disease was fatal only in the 19th century. True, a range of methods for preventing cholera epidemics have been developed since then, including a range of vaccines, development of basic hygiene principles, etc.
The disease itself, however, did not vanish without a trace – the instances of cholera still occur, and, to prevent lethal cases triggered by the disease, a range of guidelines have been designed for healthcare organizations to protect people from contracting a virus of cholera (Schlipköter & Flahault, 2010).
When it comes to mentioning major organizations, which provide detailed recommendations on preventing outbreaks of cholera, one must mention the World health Organization as the leader in securing people from cholera. Indeed, according to the official statement of the WHO, a range of steps used to address the early stages of the cholera epidemics outbreak have been designed for the subordinate organizations to comply with.
The WHO demands that notifications should be sent by the health authorities that have spotted the symptoms of cholera: “Under the terms of the International Health Regulations of 1969, cholera is one of three diseases for which it is mandatory to notify the World Health Organization” (WHO, n. d., p. 11).
Other organizations, though following the WHO standards for the most part, have been provided with a specific set of actions to be undertaken apart from sending notifications to the WHO. Moreover, numerous organizations have defined their own pattern of addressing the problem based on the requirements listed by the WHO.
For example, the Pan American Health Organization mentions the necessity for the control of the water sanitation process to be carried out by the corresponding services so that the threat of cholera epidemics could be driven to nil (CSIS, 2013, p. 6).
In addition to the regulations designed by the WHO, the members of the UNICEF Organization have also provided their rules and guidelines on the course of actions for an organization to follow in case of an outbreak of cholera epidemics.
Unlike the WHO, which provides rather brief guidelines for organizations to act in case of epidemics of cholera, UNICEF focuses much more on providing citizens with the safety that they need and instructing them on what must be done if an outbreak of cholera occurs.
More importantly, the UNICEF Organization specifies the precaution measures that must be taken in order to void cholera epidemics; these measures include specific guidelines concerning personal hygiene and sanitation.
In addition, the UNICEF Organization explains how the isolation of the people that have contracted cholera must be carried out (UNICEF, 2012, p. 26). Finally and most importantly, the UNICEF Organization outlines the course of actions for community engagement, which is bound to reduce the possibility of cholera epidemics.
Comparing the regulations defined by two major health organizations, one must give UNICEF credit for offering an incredibly detailed set of recommendations and rules. The members of the UNICEF have taken every minor detail into account and have provided all the rules required, including the burial procedure.
In addition, the information provided by UNICEF includes the information on the possible causes of the epidemics, such as water contamination (UNICEF, 2012, p. 24). Therefore, out of the three major sets of recommendations, the ones provided by UNICEF are clearly superior in clarity and efficiency and can be used as the basic guidelines in case of a cholera outbreak.
Reference List
CSIS (2013). Water and sanitation in the time of cholera. Web.
Schlipköter, U. & Flahault, A. (2010). Communicable diseases: achievements and challenges for public health. Public Health Reviews, 32(1), 90-119.
UNICEF (2012). Cholera outbreak guidelines. Web.
WHO (n. d.). Guidelines for cholera control. Web.