page_title: Cholera
section_title: Governments
hierarchical_section_title: Cholera / Prevention / Governments
caption_attribution_description: English: Cholera hospital with several empty beds, made up with plastic sheets and a hole for drainage One patient is present, along with two attendants (probably relatives).Cholera Hospital 1
context_page_description: Cholera is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. It infects the small intestine.
  There are many types of the Vibrio cholera bacteria. Some of them cause more serious illnesses than others. Because of this, some people who get cholera have no symptoms; others have symptoms that are not very bad, and others have very bad symptoms.
  The most common symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea. In the worst cases, diarrhea can be so bad that people can die in a few hours from dehydration.
  Cholera is a very old disease. Writings about cholera have been found from the 5th century BC. Throughout history, there have been many outbreaks and epidemics of cholera.
  Cholera still affects many people throughout the world. Estimates from 2010 say that between 3 million and 5 million people get cholera every year, and 58,000–130,000 people die from the disease every year. Today, cholera is considered a pandemic. However, it is most common in developing countries, especially in children.
context_section_description: Governments could stop outbreaks or epidemics from happening by improving sanitation.  For example, cholera is very uncommon in developed countries because they have good sanitation and because they add chemicals to their water to kill germs.  Even after people start to get cholera, it is possible for governments to stop the disease from spreading, though:
  Sterilization:  Any material that touched a cholera patient should be  cleaned with disinfectant and washed in hot water, using chlorine bleach if possible.  Hands that touched cholera patients or their things, like clothing or blankets, should be carefully cleaned and disinfected with water that has chlorine in it, or with other effective antimicrobial agents (chemicals that will kill bacteria).
  Sewage: Proper treatment can kill enough cholera bacteria for wastewater to go back into the environment. Dry toilets can be promoted where sewage treatment is not so good.
  Sources: Warnings about possible cholera in the water should be posted around contaminated water sources, with directions on how to kill the bacteria in the water through things like boiling or adding chlorine for possible use.
caption: Cholera hospital in Dhaka, showing typical "cholera beds," which are easy to disinfect
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