How cholera disease is spread?

Cholera is one of the most feared clinical entities on earth.

Cholera is usually spread by eating food or drinking water that is contaminated with the bacteria that cause cholera (Vibrio cholerae).

Also naturally in the environment, saltwater rivers and coastal waters.

Cholera spread rapidly throughout the world after the 1817 epidemic, largely due to the inadvertent transport of bilge water, mainly from British ships, but others too, acquired in the Bay of Bengal that contained the organisms.

There are two ways that Vibrio cholerae usually gets into water or food:

* Contaminated feces
* Naturally.

Contaminated Feces
In an epidemic, the source of the contamination is usually the feces of an infected person. Cholera can spread rapidly in areas with inadequate treatment of sewage and drinking water.

Naturally
The cholera bacterium may also live in the environment in brackish (saltwater) rivers and coastal waters. Shellfish, when eaten raw, have been a source of cholera, and a few people in the United States have contracted cholera after eating raw or undercooked shellfish from the Gulf of Mexico.

Is Cholera Ever Spread From Person to Person?
Cholera is not likely to be transmitted directly from one person to another; therefore, casual contact with an infected person is not a risk for becoming ill.

More Information by (WHO) - How to prevent & control cholera