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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staffCholera is a bacterial disease usually spread through contaminated water. Cholera causes severe diarrhea and dehydration. Left untreated, cholera can be fatal in a matter of hours even in previously healthy people.
Modern sewage and water treatment have virtually eliminated cholera in industrialized countries. The last major outbreak in the United States occurred in 1911. But cholera is still present in Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, India and sub-Saharan Africa. The risk of cholera epidemic is highest when poverty, war or natural disasters force people to live in crowded conditions without adequate sanitation.
Cholera is easily treated. Death results from severe dehydration that can be prevented with a simple and inexpensive rehydration solution.
- Menon MP, et al. Vibrio cholerae (cholera). In: Long SS. Principles and Practice of Pediatric Infectious Diseases. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier; 2009. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/page.do?sid=1115736543&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-7020-3468-8..50164-4&isbn=978-0-7020-3468-8&type=bookPage§ionEid=4-u1.0-B978-0-7020-3468-8..50164-4&uniqId=235185902-3. Accessed Feb. 10, 2011.
- Cholera. World Health Organization. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs107/en/. Accessed Feb. 10, 2011.
- Cholera. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/cholera/general/. Accessed Feb. 10, 2011.
- Butterton JR. Overview of Vibrio cholerae infection. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Feb. 10, 2011.
- Seas C, et al. Vibrio cholerae. In: Mandell GL, et al. Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett's Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier; 2010. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/page.do?sid=1115767246&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-443-06839-3..00214-9&isbn=978-0-443-06839-3&type=bookPage§ionEid=4-u1.0-B978-0-443-06839-3..00214-9&uniqId=235185902-6. Accessed Feb. 10, 2011.
- Stanton B, et al. Oral rehydration therapy. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Feb. 10, 2011.
- Oral rehydration solutions: Made at home. Rehydration Project. http://rehydrate.org/solutions/homemade.htm#recipes. Accessed Feb. 10, 2011.
- Steckelberg JM (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Feb. 15, 2011.
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