It is hoped that the detailed genetic information now available will allow new treatments and vaccines to be developed. The completed sequence is published in the journal Nature. Severe diarrhoea Vibrio cholerae is found in drinking water contaminated with human faeces. The bacterium attacks the gut and patients suffer severe diarrhoea. This leads to a rapid loss of fluid and important body chemicals.
Death can occur as quickly as a few hours after the onset of symptoms.
A simple cocktail of electrolytes and water will save the vast majority of sufferers if given soon enough. In London, in 1854, the physician John Snow traced an outbreak to a water pump in Broad Street. He sealed the well and the outbreak ceased thereby proving that cholera was spread by an infectious agent. But it was not until 1883 that the German physician and bacteriologist Robert Koch identified Vibrio cholerae as the culprit. Salt-water estuaries Decoding the bacterium's genome should aid the development of new vaccines and medicines that can be used against the disease.