Complications

Cholera can quickly become fatal. In the most severe cases, the rapid loss of large amounts of fluids and electrolytes can lead to death within hours. In less extreme situations, people who don't receive treatment can die of dehydration and shock hours to days after cholera symptoms first appear.

Although shock and severe dehydration are the worst complications of cholera, other problems can occur, such as:

• Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia). Dangerously low levels of blood sugar (glucose) — the body's main energy source — can occur when people become too ill to eat. Children are at greatest risk of this complication, which can cause seizures, unconsciousness and even death.
• Low potassium levels. People with cholera lose large quantities of minerals, including potassium, in their stools. Very low potassium levels interfere with heart and nerve function and are life-threatening.
• Kidney failure. When the kidneys lose their filtering ability, excess amounts of fluids, some electrolytes and wastes build up in the body — a potentially life-threatening condition. In people with cholera, kidney failure often accompanies shock.