Cholera
Also known as: Cholera, Vibrio cholerae infection, Acute secretory diarrhoea, Severe dehydrating gastroenteritis
Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal infection caused by toxigenic Vibrio cholerae, usually serogroups O1 or O139, acquired through contaminated food or water. Disease may progress within hours from profuse watery diarrhoea and vomiting to severe dehydration, electrolyte disturbance, hypovolaemic shock, acute kidney injury and death. Immediate oral rehydration solution is the foundation of treatment; severe dehydration or shock requires urgent intravenous isotonic fluids. Antibiotics may be used by medical teams for severe or selected cases but never replace rehydration. Cholera-like illness is classically considered within Huò Luàn (霍乱), characterised by sudden vomiting and diarrhoea. Relevant patterns include Summerheat-Damp, Damp-Heat, Cold-Damp, food stagnation, post-infectious Spleen Qi deficiency and Yang collapse. Chinese medicine care is strictly adjunctive after emergency medical treatment, infection-control measures and adequate fluid and electrolyte replacement have commenced.
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Lifestyle & Diet
- •Treat suspected cholera as urgent medical illness.
- •Use commercial oral rehydration solution or an officially recommended preparation; plain water alone does not adequately replace electrolytes.
- •Continue breastfeeding and age-appropriate feeding as advised by the medical team.
- •Avoid alcohol, high-sugar drinks and unverified home electrolyte mixtures.
- •Follow medical advice on antibiotics, paediatric zinc where locally recommended, testing and follow-up.
- •Wash hands thoroughly with soap and safe water after toileting or caring for an affected person and before food preparation.
- •Use safe drinking water and appropriate sanitation.
- •Cook food thoroughly and consume it while hot.
- •Avoid raw or undercooked seafood in affected areas.
- •Disinfect surfaces contaminated by stool or vomit according to public-health guidance.
- •Follow exclusion requirements for food handlers, healthcare workers and childcare workers.
- •Resume nutritionally adequate meals as tolerated rather than prolonged fasting.
- •Monitor urine output, dizziness, thirst, body weight and recurrence of diarrhoea.
- •Seek reassessment for persistent weakness, poor intake, fever, blood in stool or reduced urine.
- •Obtain destination-specific travel health advice before visiting areas with active transmission.
- •Discuss oral cholera vaccination with an authorised vaccination provider when indicated.
- •Vaccination supplements but does not replace safe food, water, sanitation and hand hygiene.
Cautions & Contraindications
- •Acupuncture during severe dehydration, hypotension or shock — Risk of syncope, deterioration and delay of resuscitation — Do not treat; activate emergency care.
- •Oral herbs with repeated vomiting, altered consciousness, swallowing impairment or shock — Aspiration risk, unreliable absorption and delayed care — Withhold and refer urgently.
- •Moxibustion in fever, confusion, impaired sensation, haemodynamic instability or severe dehydration — Burn risk and inappropriate delay — Avoid.
- •Antidiarrhoeal self-treatment — May be unsuitable in serious infectious diarrhoea — Use only on medical advice.
- •Unverified electrolyte or herbal mixtures — Incorrect concentration, contamination or interactions may worsen illness — Use recognised rehydration products and professionally prescribed medicines.
When to reassess or seek care again
- •Ability to drink and retain oral rehydration solution
- •Normalisation of urine output
- •Improvement in pulse, blood pressure and orthostatic symptoms
- •Reduction in stool and vomiting frequency
- •Return of appetite and functional strength
- •Absence of recurrent dehydration
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Sources & Further Reading
Clinical guidance, red flags and safety notes on this page draw on the following current sources alongside the classical references above.
Educational reference for licensed practitioners. Not a substitute for individual clinical assessment. Refer to conventional care for any red-flag or undiagnosed presentation.