Vietnamese Food in the Time of Cholera

The recently release film version of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's book, Love in the Time of Cholera, has been described as cutesy but there's nothing cute about cholera. If you’re traveling in Vietnam these days, do take care. What began in late October as an epidemic of acute diarrhea in northern Vietnam is turning out to be cholera:

Intellasia News Report (11/16/07)

Reuters (11/10/07)

In a number of cases, what got people was shrimp paste/sauce. That's purply mam tom (mam ruoc), a pungent, briny condiment widely used in Vietnamese cooking. People are advised to cook food properly, wash their hands with soap thoroughly, and boil drinking water to prevent an outbreak of cholera.

Comments

[Amy]

I thought mam tom had so much salt that it kills a good amount of bacteria (via osmosis, right?). Or maybe the mam tom prepared over there doesn't have enough salt? Then again, I don't know if food is regulated over there like the FDA in the states.

[Andrea Nguyen]

I did too but maybe there's some weird bacteria that doesn't die off. The government hasn't released any information. Whenever I use raw mam tom for dipping sauce, there's a lot of lime and chile to function as antiseptics and seasoning agents.

[Robyn]

We knew nothing of the outbreak until we arrived in Saigon a couple wks ago and heard it from friends, who warned us not to go to Hanoi (we weren't planning on it). It's strange that it didn't make the international news till several weeks into the epidemic.

[Andrea Nguyen]

Yep, the cholera has been a low-key thing for the government most likely because they're worried about people panicking and the lost of tourism and investment. Glad to know you didn't get ill.

[Simon Bao]

I know some of the cholera cases seem to be connected to bad shrimp paste - so many of life woes can be traced to bad shrimp paste - but I think some of the cholera (and dengue fever) problems have also been a consequence of all the recent tropical cyclones and flooding. Which is how all those crocodiles escaped from their crocodile farm - the *other* tourist hazard. As of today there's another mega-cyclone heading towards VN.

Have a look at the Citadel in Hue a week ago...
http://news.yahoo.com/photo/071113/ids_photos_wl/r1686026561.jpg

[Andrea Nguyen]

Oh yeah, flooding tends to stir up things and send them afloat. The escapee crocodiles comprised such a Vietnam story -- there's flooding and the crocs went on the lam. If you're not familiar with this story, see these links:

http://tinquehuong.wordpress.com/2007/11/12/domestic-crocodiles-on-the-loose-in-c-vietnam/
http://marvincouldwell.blogspot.com/2007/11/crocodiles-and-global-warming.html

Yikes, the citadel in Hue is halfway in water! Thanks for the link Simon.