Last Updated on January 5, 2024
What is Vibrio Cholerae?
Vibrio cholerae is a bacterium that causes the diarrheal disease known as cholera. An estimated 2.9 million cases and 95,000 deaths from cholera occur each year around the world. Modern sewage and water treatment have virtually eliminated cholera in industrialized countries. But cholera still exists in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Haiti .
Preventing the Spread of Vibrio Cholerae
Vibrio cholerae can be transmitted when someone drinks water or eats food contaminated with cholera bacteria from the feces of an infected person. The disease is most likely to occur and spread in places with inadequate water treatment, poor sanitation, and inadequate hygiene.
Regular hand hygiene is essential to prevent the transmission of cholera. Since this bacterium can be found in contaminated water, proper water purification is also a vital component in preventing its spread. Contaminated public wells are frequent sources of large-scale cholera outbreaks. In areas where public water is not purified (such as developing countries), take these preventative measures :
- Drink only bottled beverages or ones made with boiled water
- Eat food that is completely cooked and hot (especially if eating seafood)
- Avoid raw produce since it may be irrigated or washed with contaminated water
- Eat only fruits and vegetables that you can peel yourself (like bananas, oranges, and avocados)
Get Additional Protection from Vibrio Cholerae with Germicidal UV Disinfection
In addition to the above preventative measures, Germicidal Ultraviolet (UV-C) water disinfection (in the dosage listed below) can inactivate Vibrio cholerae in many applications. Our products use STER-L-RAY® Germicidal UV-C Lamps producing ultraviolet wavelengths at 254 nanometers, the region of germicidal effectiveness most destructive to harmful microorganisms.
Germicidal Ultraviolet (UV-C) Water Purification can inactivate Vibrio cholerae in water coming from a public source (that may be used for drinking or food preparation). This method can help fulfill one of the World Health Organization’s objectives of a water safety plan : “treating the water to reduce or remove contamination.” View our application page on Well Water Contamination for more information on how UV purification inactivates many harmful microorganisms.
Vibrio Cholerae: Classification & UV-C Dose for Inactivation
Organism: | Alternate Name: | Type: | Disease: | UV Dose*: |
---|---|---|---|---|
Vibrio cholerae | V. cholerae | Bacteria | Cholera | 6.50 mJ/cm2 |
Where is it found?
Contaminated Water
Contaminated Food
What can it infect?
Intestines
How Does it Spread?
Eating Food
Drinking Water
People at High Risk for Contracting an Infection
The following groups of people are at higher risk of infection from Vibrio cholerae:
- Those living with inadequate sanitary conditions, where a safe water supply is difficult to maintain (refugee camps, impoverished countries, and areas afflicted by famine, war, or natural disasters)
- People with low levels of stomach acid, such as children, older adults, and those who take antacids, H-2 blockers, or proton pump inhibitors
- Travelers to an area of active cholera transmission
- Healthcare workers treating cholera patients
- Anyone who lives with someone sick with cholera
- People with type O blood (they are twice as likely to develop cholera compared to people with other blood types)
- Those who eat shellfish from waters that could harbor the bacteria (there have been known cases of people in the U.S. getting cholera from raw or undercooked shellfish from the Gulf of Mexico)
Vibrio Cholerae Symptoms
Cholera infection is often mild or without symptoms but can be severe. Approximately 1 in 10 people who get sick with cholera will develop severe symptoms such as:
- Watery diarrhea
- Vomiting
- Thirst
- Leg cramps
- Restlessness or irritability
Sources on Vibrio Cholerae
The above information can be found on the following pages. Please read complete articles to learn more.
- CDC: Traveler’s Health – Cholera
- CDC: Community Water Systems and Water Safety Plans
- Mayo Clinic: Cholera
* Nominal Ultraviolet dosage necessary to inactivate better than 99% of microorganisms. See sources below.
- “The Use of Ultraviolet Light for Microbial Control”, Ultrapure Water, April 1989.
- John Treij, “Ultraviolet Technology”, Water Conditioning & Purification, December 1995.
- Bak Srikanth, “The Basic Benefits of Ultraviolet Technology”, Water Conditioning & Purification, December 1995.
Learn More & Shop Our Products to Inactivate Vibrio Cholerae
Made or assembled in the USA from U.S. and imported parts, UV Water Purifiers from Atlantic Ultraviolet Corporation® are constructed of the highest quality materials and use germicidal UV-C lamps to disinfect water and surfaces, inactivating microorganisms like Vibrio cholerae.
Learn Here! Ultraviolet.com
- Blog Posts: UV Water Disinfection
- Blog Posts: Other Microorganisms Inactivated by UV-C
- UV-C Dosage Data for Many Microorganisms
- Applications for UV Disinfection
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