This week’s image is of Vibrio cholerae, the gram-negative bacteria which causes the disease cholera. Cholera affects up to five million people globally each year, and causes as many as 120,000 deaths. The disease is not contagious, but is spread through ingestion of contaminated food or water, the latter often due to poor sanitation. Haiti is currently experiencing an unrelenting cholera outbreak; between October of 2010 and October of 2013, there have been over 680,000 cases.
(image: CDC)
