What is Cholera?

Everybody in Malawi should be aware that there is an outbreak of cholera, and that you, the population, are the most crucial actors in responding to it. Because only about a quarter of those infected with cholera show severe symptoms of cholera, three times as many people can be spreading the disease as the number of reported cases.

Cholera is a bacterial disease that causes severe watery diarrhoea, caught from water and food contaminated with faeces. It can kill quickly through dehydration but rapid re-hydration with ORS saves lives.