El Tor is a strain of the cholera bacterium that can remain undetected in carriers for years. It spreads through oral and fecal methods and can be prevented through better sanitation. It caused a pandemic in 1937 and is highly contagious with few major symptoms. Treatment involves antibiotics and fluids. It was named after El-Tor, Egypt, where it was discovered in 1905.
El Tor is the abbreviated name of a specific strain of the cholera bacterium, called Vibrio cholerae. Its symptoms are often unnoticeable, and it can remain in carriers’ systems for months or even years, sometimes without being diagnosed. Formally known as V. cholera biotype eltor, it was responsible for the seventh global pandemic.
It is both similar to and different from the standard strain of cholera. Both contain similar serotypes, which are specific variations within subtypes of viruses and bacteria. Both show characteristics of the Ogawa, Hikojima and Inaba serotypes and belong to the O1 serogroup. El Tor, on the other hand, produces haemolysins, distinguishing it from standard biotypes.
El Tor has been identified to spread through oral and fecal methods. For example, drinking contaminated water from a public water source or eating partially raw foods that have been fertilized with fecal matter can cause the bacteria to spread. Outbreaks can be minimized or even prevented through much better sanitation and by boiling water before drinking. Also, washing fruits and vegetables thoroughly before consumption and fully cooking the food will minimize the risk of an outbreak.
Although El Tor was responsible for epidemics in the early 1900s, it didn’t cause a pandemic until 1937 in Indonesia. From there, it spread across Asia, then Africa, the Middle East, and finally densely populated Europe, responsible for small outbreaks along the way. In 1993, a specific test identified the El Tor strain in Calcutta, and that particular strain was blamed for causing an epidemic in Guinea-Bissau, a small West African country.
These outbreaks, pandemics and epidemics have been so widespread because the disease masks itself with very few major symptoms and is highly contagious. El Tor’s treatment is the same for most bacterial infections: antibiotics and plenty of fluids. Water and electrolytes must be replaced because the disease drains these fluids from the system. Treatment is only available if the condition is diagnosed, which isn’t often the case. The El Tor strain, in particular, is known to live in a woman’s system for up to nine years after her first contact. It can live much longer than the classic cholera vibrios.
The strain of the virus takes its name from the place where it was discovered: El-Tor, Egypt. E. Gotschlich, a German physician, identified the virus in 1905 while in a quarantine camp. Over the years, scientists have struggled to classify El Tor, first naming it after its own species and then, after study, lumping it into the same serogroup due to similar characteristics.
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