Cholera epidemic
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Provision of clean water and adequate sanitation is the most important measure. Health education is also important. Many cases can be managed with oral rehydration therapy alone, given via nasogastric tube if necessary. Intravenous therapy should be given in patients more than 10% dehydrated.
Antibiotics reduce the duration of diarrhoea from a mean of 1.8 days to a mean of 0.8 days. Stool volume, intravenous fluid requirements and length of hospital stay are reduced by antibiotics. Tetracyclines, chloramphenicol, cotrimoxazole, doxycycline, ampicillin, ciprofloxacin and furazaladone have been used successfully. Treatment of household contacts with 200mg of doxycycline (single dose) is recommended but mass chemoprophylaxis is not.
