Symptoms

An infection with Vibrio cholerae is:

• Often mild
• Without symptoms or
• Severe symptoms 

Approximately 1 in 20 infected people has severe symptoms. These people may experience:

• Rapid loss of body fluids leading to dehydration
• Without treatment, death can occur within hours.

 Specific symptoms of cholera:  

• Watery diarrhea that often contains flecks of whitish material (mucus and some epithelial cells) that are about the size of pieces of rice and smells ‘fishy’. This kind of diarrhea is termed as ‘rice water stool’. This kind of diarrhea is often painless. 
• Vomiting
• Rapid heart rate
• Loss of skin elasticity or called washerwoman skin
• Muscle cramp 

rice water stool

washerwoman skin

As fluid is lost, other symptoms can occur, such as: 

·         Thirsty

·         Weak

·         Increase in heartbeat rate                                                            

·         Reduced urine production

·         Coma

·         Death 


 *Fever is not a symptom of cholera!

Other problems may occur as well such as :

Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)

Children are at greatest risk of this complication, which can cause seizure (epilepsy), unconsciousness and even death.

Abnormal electrical signal in the brain that causes seizures

Seizures / epilepsy in children

Symptoms of cholera

·         Low potassium levels (hypokalemia)  

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 (renal) failure

When the kidneys lose their filtering ability, excess amounts of fluids such as some electrolytes and wastes build up in your body which can cause death. In people with cholera, kidney failure often accompanies shock.

Serious cholera symptoms and complications can occur rapidly; therefore, if a person is experiencing possible symptoms of cholera, he or she should see a healthcare provider immediately. Severe dehydration can often occur four to eight hours after the first liquid stool, with death in about 18 hours to a few days in under-treated or untreated people.

In epidemic outbreaks in underdeveloped countries where little or no treatment is available, the death rate can be as high as 50% - 60%.

Cholera epidemic in Haiti

Cholera epidemic in Haiti

Cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe

How long after infection do the symptoms appear?

It can take from a few hours to 5 days for the symptoms to appear after infection. Symptoms typically appear in 2-3 days.

Infected - Incubation period - Symptoms