Please consult the current CDC Cholera page for current cholera treatment recommendations. Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link. Cholera - Vibrio cholerae infection. Section Navigation. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Syndicate. Minus Related Pages. He discovered that they thrived in damp, dirty linen and moist earth, and in the stools of patients with the disease. They can also exist as colonies of biofilms that coat the surface of the water, plants, stones, shells, and similar items, and they can live among the eggs of midges, which serve as a reservoir for cholera bacteria.
Toxic strains of cholera bacteria produce a poison that triggers violent diarrhea in humans. When the bacteria enter areas where humans live, they can quickly cause severe epidemics.
Weather changes, population loss, and improved sanitation can all end an outbreak. Only around 1 in 20 cholera infections are severe, and a high percentage of infected people show no symptoms. If symptoms appear, they will do so between 12 hours and 5 days after exposure. They range from mild or asymptomatic to severe. A person with cholera can quickly lose fluids, up to 20 liters a day, so severe dehydration and shock can occur. Shock can lead to collapse of the circulatory system.
It is a life-threatening condition and a medical emergency. Cholera bacteria enter the body through the mouth, often in food or water that has been contaminated with human waste, due to poor sanitation and hygiene. They can also enter by eating seafood that is raw or not completely cooked, in particular shellfish native to estuary environments, such as oysters or crabs.
Poorly cleaned vegetables irrigated by contaminated water sources are another common source of infection. In situations where sanitation is severely challenged, such as in refugee camps or communities with highly limited water resources, a single affected victim can contaminate all the water for an entire population. A doctor may suspect cholera if a patient has severe watery diarrhea, vomiting, and rapid dehydration, especially if they have recently traveled to a place that has a recent history of cholera, or poor sanitation, or if they have recently consumed shellfish.
A stool sample will be sent to a laboratory for testing, but if cholera is suspected, the patient must begin treatment even before the results come back. It is normally dehydration that leads to death from cholera, so the most important treatment is to give oral hydration solution ORS , also known as oral rehydration therapy ORT.
The ORS solution is available as a powder that can be made with boiled or bottled water. Without rehydration, approximately half the people with cholera die. Seek immediate medical care if you develop severe diarrhea or vomiting and are in or have very recently returned from a country where cholera occurs. If you believe you've been exposed to cholera, but your symptoms are not severe, call your family doctor. Be sure to say that you suspect your illness may be cholera. When you make your appointment, ask if there are restrictions you need to follow before your visit.
Stay well hydrated. For diarrhea and vomiting that may be cholera-related, use an oral rehydration solution. If you develop symptoms of cholera, especially after visiting an area where the disease is common, call your doctor or get medical help right away. Severe dehydration can happen very quickly, so it's essential to start replacing lost fluids right away. If you have a severe case of diarrhea or vomiting, call a doctor immediately, even if you're pretty sure it's not cholera.
Dehydration is a serious medical condition regardless of the cause, and it needs to be treated quickly before it can do damage to internal organs. To confirm a diagnosis of cholera, doctors may take a stool sample or vomit sample to examine for signs of the bacteria.
Cholera needs immediate treatment because severe dehydration can happen within hours. Fortunately, treatment is simple and very effective. Very few people who get treatment die.
The goal of cholera treatment is to replace all the fluids and electrolytes salts lost through diarrhea and vomiting. For mild dehydration, a doctor may recommend drinking an over-the-counter rehydration solution. People with more severe cases of cholera may need to stay in the hospital and get intravenous IV fluids.
Sometimes doctors prescribe antibiotics to treat cholera. The antibiotics are not as important as rehydrating, but they can help shorten the length of time a person is sick. They also might make cholera-related diarrhea less severe.
Sometimes doctors also prescribe zinc supplements. Anti-diarrheal medicines can actually make the symptoms of cholera worse, so people who think they may have cholera should avoid taking them.
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