Poliomyelitis Cholera Information. This highly contagious condition is transmitted through contaminated food and water. Frequently infection may be associated with the consumption of significantly contaminated water or through eating under cooked shell fish. Unfortunately the currently available vaccines against Cholera are ineffective and not recommended by the World Health Organisation.
Cholera is spread by contaminated water and food.
Sudden large outbreaks are usually caused by a contaminated water supply. In highly endemic areas it is mainly a disease of young children, although breastfeeding infants are rarely affected. Marine shellfish and plankton are the main reservoirs of V cholerae. The El Tor strain can also survive in fresh water for long periods. Persons with asymptomatic infections play an important role in carrying V, cholerae from place to place, causing epidemics to spread.