Key points
- People get cholera from water or food containing cholera bacteria.
- It can cause life-threatening watery diarrhea and vomiting.
- If you're going where cholera is present, take steps to lower your risk — and ask a doctor or travel clinic about cholera vaccination, especially where water and food may be unsafe.
CDC's printable fact sheet, Cholera — 5 Basic Prevention Steps; also in Urdu and Haitian Creole.
1. Drink and use safe water
Piped water, drinks sold in cups or bags, and ice may not be safe.
- Use bottled water with unbroken seals to drink, brush your teeth, wash and prepare food, and make ice or drinks.
- No bottled water? Use water that has been chlorinated, boiled or filtered:
| Method | How |
|---|---|
| Chlorine | Use a locally available chlorine product for drinking water, following the label |
| Boiling (if no chlorine product) | Bring to a rolling boil for 1 minute. Store it in a clean, covered container — boiled water can be recontaminated |
| Filtering | Use a filter with pores 0.3 microns or smaller, then disinfect with chlorine, chlorine dioxide or iodine. Store it covered; chlorine afterward is recommended |
2. Wash your hands often with soap and safe water
- before, during and after preparing food;
- before and after eating or feeding your children;
- after using the toilet;
- after cleaning your child's bottom;
- after caring for someone with diarrhea.
No soap and safe water? Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.
3. Use toilets
- Use toilets or safely managed sanitation for all poop, including children's, and wash your hands afterward.
No toilet?
- Poop at least 30 meters (100 feet) from any water, including wells, and bury it.
- Put bags of poop in latrines or collection points, or bury them — never in chemical toilets.
- Dig new latrines or temporary pit toilets at least a half-meter (1.6 feet) deep and 30 meters (100 feet) from any water.
4. Boil it, peel it, or leave it
- Eat food that is thoroughly cooked and still hot and steaming, or fruit and vegetables you peeled yourself.
- Skip raw fruit and vegetables that can't be peeled.
- Cook seafood, especially shellfish, until very hot all the way through.
5. Clean up safely
- Kitchen: clean and disinfect dishes and food areas with soap and safe water, and let them dry completely.
- Laundry and bathing: at least 30 meters (100 feet) from drinking-water sources — clothes and diapers included.
- Toilets and soiled surfaces: wash off the poop with soapy water, then disinfect with 1 part household bleach to 9 parts water.
- Afterward: pour used soapy water and disinfectant into a drain, toilet or latrine; wash dirty rags in hot soapy water and let them dry fully; and wash your hands again.
Sources
Based on "How to Prevent Cholera," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; a work of the United States government in the public domain.
LanguagesEnglish
Licence: CC0 1.0 (public domain) · Adapted from www.cdc.gov
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