Differences Between Cholera and Influenza as

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Biology essay
Comparing Influenza and Cholera

Influenza and cholera are two very different diseases, yet they have their similarities. Cholera is caused by a bacterium called Vibrio Cholerae and usually lives in water whereas Influenza, more commonly known as the flu or grippe, is a disease cause by several different viruses so people can have it more than once.

The differences between a virus and a bacterium are thus: * Bacteria are unicellular, Viruses have no cells.
* Bacteria have DNA and RNA floating in cytoplasm, and a cell wall and membrane. Viruses have DNA or RNA enclosed in a protein coat. * Bacteria have Ribosomes, whereas viruses do not.
* Bacterial infections are localised, yet viruses are systemic.

As you can see, there are a load of differences between viruses and bacteria, however there are some similarities. For instance they both share the fact that they don’t have a nucleus.

In the topic of symptoms of these diseases, Cholera is fairly different from Flu. Cholera is an acute intestinal illness which causes stomach aches, very watery and continuous diarrhoea and vomiting. The diarrhoea and vomiting, in turn, can cause very bad dehydration, leading to death if untreated. Flu symptoms include cough, sore throat, muscle aches and pains, fever, headache, and rarely vomiting and diarrhoea. Influenza can also lead to other diseases, such as pneumonia. This makes it especially dangerous to young children and old people. In other words, there is a big difference, apart from the rare case of D and V that can occur with flu.

Transmission is a key difference between these two diseases. Influenza can pass from one person to another very easily. It is most commonly spread by the microscopic droplets of mucus and fluid that are sent into the air when the sick person coughs or sneezes. Cholera is contracted by eating foods or drinking water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio Cholerae. Sometimes, people get cholera...
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