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Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staffCholera requires immediate treatment because the disease can cause death within hours.
- Rehydration. The goal is to replace lost fluids and electrolytes using a simple rehydration solution, Oral Rehydration Salts (ORS). The ORS solution is available as a powder that can be reconstituted in boiled or bottled water. Without rehydration, approximately half the people with cholera die. With treatment, the number of fatalities drops to less than 1 percent.
- Intravenous fluids. During a cholera epidemic, most people can be helped by oral rehydration alone, but severely dehydrated people may also need intravenous fluids.
- Antibiotics. While antibiotics are not a necessary part of cholera treatment, some of these drugs may reduce both the amount and duration of cholera-related diarrhea. A single dose of doxycycline (Adoxa, Monodox) or azithromycin (Zithromax, Zmax) may be effective.
- Zinc supplements. Research has shown that zinc may decrease and shorten the duration of diarrhea in children with cholera.
References
- 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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