Cholera has been epidemic in southern Asia for over 2,000 years and has spawned seven global pandemics, the last one being in 1911. It is hoped that the detailed genetic information now available will allow new treatments and vaccines to be developed. The sequence is published in the journal Nature. Severe diarrhoea Vibrio cholerae is found in drinking water contaminated with human faeces. Symptoms of cholera include a rapid loss of fluid and important body chemicals as the bacterium attacks the gut.
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.