Cholera outbreak – an overview of management and prevention

Cholera is a water-borne disease, caused by the bacteria Vibrio cholerae, and it is spread by contaminated food and water. Transmission happens through the oral-faecal route, by ingestion of contaminated food or water and poor sanitation. The risk factors include limited access to safe water and sanitation facilities. The symptoms include severe watery diarrhoea and dehydration. Management is based on proper and timeous rehydration as well as preventative measures to stop the transmission of the bacteria. Antibiotics such as doxycycline or ciprofloxacin are effective treatment options. Hand hygiene and proper sanitation are of the utmost importance to reduce the spread of the disease. This review will focus on assessing the aetiology, pathophysiology, modes of transmission, treatment, and prevention methods available for cholera, with an aim to raise public awareness on the cholera outbreak currently affecting the country. The review conducted searches on Pub-Med and Google Scholar databases to find literature covering different aspects of cholera, such as its causes, pathophysiology, transmission, treatment, and prevention. Articles on cholera in the current year of 2023 up to a limit of 2012 and written in English language were used in this review. In addition, this review made use of the standard treatment guideline for cholera treatment options provided by the South African National Department of Health.