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Jaggedmallard26 t1_j68u6nz wrote

Reply to comment by sweet-n-sombre in TIL cholera was reintroduced to Haiti after a century by UN peacekeepers responding to the 2010 earthquake. The resulting outbreak was the worst on record, killing 10,000 and infecting 820,000. by theworkinglad

You'll lose weight like you do any severe illness but the 40 pounds of body weight is pure water weight, not fat cells being flushed.

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sweet-n-sombre t1_j68wmdw wrote

Surely cells being dehydrated would cause quite a few of them to die and flush out ?

Where is the water coming from? Blood weighs around 5kg (10 pounds), so surely body cells are being squeezed of fluid too, I'd imagine.

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RavenholdIV t1_j699xdg wrote

Your body has a lot of water in it, and not just in the blood. You lose weight by losing the water. Some cells may die, but fat cells are really stubborn, and losing fat takes time that cholera just won't give you. You'll end up gaining most of the weight back once you get over it because you'll (hopefully) stay hydrated.

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