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John S. Gray, PhD, DSc
University of Oslo Blindern, Norway

Michael Depledge, DSc, PhD
University of Plymouth Plymouth, England

Anthony Knap, DSc, PhD
Bermuda Biological Station for Research St George's West, Bermuda

JAMA. 1996;276(5):372-373.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

To the Editor.

—The article by Dr Patz and colleagues¹ suggests a link between outbreaks of cholera and marine algal blooms. We believe such a link is speculative in the extreme. Cockburn and Cassanos² first suggested that seasonal fluctuations in cholera were associated with growths of bluegreen algae in freshwater ponds. Oppenheimer et al³ postulated that Vibrio cholerae was retained within the mucous sheath of the alga, was released into the water, and multiplied vigorously in the rich nutrients derived from the decayed bloom. The pond water was then used by humans, and cholera spread. Yet these authors performed no statistical analyses. The data presented showed that the number of cholera cases increased from just above zero in July and August to a peak of more than 700 between October and November, while the water temperature decreased from 32°C to 20°C. The peak algal bloom was 290 . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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