Cholera natural history, complications, and prognosis


 * Associate Editors-In-Chief: Priyamvada Singh, MBBS [mailto:psingh@perfuse.org]

Overview
Cholera is a severe diarrheal disease caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae.

Prognosis
If people with cholera are treated quickly and properly, the mortality rate is less than 1%; however, with untreated cholera, the mortality rate rises to 50–60%. For certain genetic strains of cholera, such as the one present during the 2010 epidemic in Haiti and the 2004 outbreak in India, death can occur within two hours of the first sign of symptoms.

Complications

 * Hypotension
 * Shock
 * Coma
 * Electrolyte imbalance
 * Death