How to Prevent Cholera

An acute bacterial infection, cholera causes severe diarrhoea and can lead to life threatening dehydration. Cholera is rare in the U.S. and other industrialized nations. But if you're traveling to parts of Africa, Latin America or Asia, where epidemic cholera is present, or areas where cholera is endemic, such as parts of South America, India and the Middle East, you must learn how to prevent contracting the infection. Read on to learn more.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Drink only water that you know is boiled, chlorine or iodine treated. Tea and coffee must contain this same treated water. Soft drinks and other carbonated bottled drinks are okay as long as you avoid ice.
2. Eat foods and vegetables, which are cooked thoroughly and still hot. Eat only fruit you peeled yourself. Avoid raw, uncooked salads and any food that's been washed with untreated water.
3. Stay away from raw or undercooked fish or seafood. Consume food and drink from restaurants or hotels, being careful to avoid street vendors.
4. Bring no food possibly contaminated back into the United States, including perishable seafood or raw fruit or vegetables.

Tips & Warnings

• Cholera is not easily transmittable, so casual contact with someone infected is not risky.
• "Boil it, cook it, peel it or forget it," is a common phrase used to remember how to prevent such bacterial infections in foreign countries with lesser sanitation and water systems.
• The Centers for Disease Control doesn't recommend cholera vaccines. Dukoral, a recently developed oral vaccine, is available in some countries, not in the United States.