Cholera is an infectious disease with diarrhea caused by eating food or drinking water contaminated with a bacterium called Vibrio cholerae.
Cholera was prevalent in the U.S. in the 1800s before modern water and sewage treatment systems eliminated its spread by contaminated water. However, cholera outbreaks are still a serious problem in other parts of the world, where cholera affects an estimated 3-5 million people and causes more than 100,000 deaths each year. Rarely, contaminated seafood has caused cholera outbreaks in the U.S.
When a person consumes the contaminated food or water, the bacteria release a toxin in the intestines that produces severe diarrhea.
It is not likely you will catch cholera just from casual contact with an infected person.
Symptoms of cholera can begin as soon as a few hours or as long as five days after infection. Often symptoms are mild. But sometimes they are very serious. About one in 20 people infected have severe watery diarrhea accompanied by vomiting, which can quickly lead to dehydration. Although many infected people may have minimal or no symptoms, they can still contribute to spread of the infection.
If not treated, dehydration can lead to shock and death in a matter of hours.
To disinfect your own water, boil it for one minute or filter it and add two drops of bleach or one-half of an iodine tablet per liter of water.
If you develop severe, watery diarrhea and vomiting — particularly after eating raw shellfish or traveling to a country where cholera is epidemic — seek medical help immediately. Cholera is highly treatable, but because dehydration can happen quickly, it's important to get cholera treatment right away.
Depending on how severe the diarrhea is, treatment will consist of oral or intravenous solutions to replace lost fluids. In severe cases, doctors prescribe antibiotics to kill the bacteria, causing the diarrhea to end more quickly.