Cholera is an acute secretory diarrheal illness caused by toxin-producing strains of the bacterium Vibrio cholerae

-Vibrio species are highly motile, facultatively anaerobic,curved gram-negative rods with flagella 

-infection is acquired through contaminated water or food 

Symptoms & Signs 

Stool is liquid, gray, turbid, and without fecal odor, blood, or pus (“rice water stool”), vomiting, severe dehydration leading to decreased skin turgor, sunken eyes, and lethargy

Diagnosis 

Stool culture, Rapid tests 

Treatment 

-Aggressive volume repletion using oral rehydration salts (ORS) and IV fluids 

-Antibiotics: Azithromycin, ampicillin, chloramphenicol, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, fluoroquinolones, tetracyclines; zinc supplementation for pediatric cholera 

Prevention:  two oral cholera vaccines  in two doses 1–4 weeks apart