Cholera Outbreak Threat in Pakistan

Cholera outbreak threat in flood affected areas of Pakistan. Flood levels along Pakistan's swollen Indus River are expected to surge higher, with rain forecast for the region.

Cholera is an infection of the small intestine caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. Cholera also known as the blue death because the person's skin may turn bluish-gray from extreme loss of water and other fluids.

The transmission of bacteria occurs primarily by drinking water or eating food that has been contaminated by the feces (waste product) of an infected person, including one with no apparent symptoms.

The primary symptoms of cholera are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting of clear fluid. These symptoms usually start suddenly, half a day to five days after ingestion of the bacteria. The diarrhea is frequently described as rice water in nature and may have a fishy odor. An untreated person with cholera may produce 10 to 20 litres (3 to 5 US gal) of diarrhea a day. Severe cholera kills about half of affected individuals. Estimates of the ratio of asymptomatic to symptomatic infections have ranged from 3 to 100.