Treatment

Cholera requires immediate treatment because the disease can cause death within hours.

• Rehydration. The goal is to replace lost fluids and electrolytes using a simple rehydration solution, oral rehydration salts (ORS). The ORS solution is available as a powder that can be made with boiled or bottled water.

  Without rehydration, approximately half the people with cholera die. With treatment, fatalities drop to less than 1%.

• Intravenous fluids. Most people with cholera can be helped by oral rehydration alone, but severely dehydrated people might also need intravenous fluids.
• Antibiotics. While not a necessary part of cholera treatment, some antibiotics can reduce cholera-related diarrhea and shorten how long it lasts in severely ill people.
• Zinc supplements. Research has shown that zinc might decrease diarrhea and shorten how long it lasts in children with cholera.