Cholera continues to harm the most vulnerable people worldwide. Diarrhoeal diseases are a major source of preventable morbidity and mortality, and in 2015 claimed the lives of more than 1·3 million people, of whom 499 000 were children younger than 5 years. As a contributor to the global burden of diarrhoeal disease, Vibrio cholerae is a particularly harsh pathogen, causing rapid onset of severe nausea, vomiting, and profuse watery diarrhoea that can lead to death within hours—even of the healthiest young adults.
Whole communities can be rapidly affected in epidemics, causing both physical harm and psychological distress. The pervasive social determinant of the problem—poor or no access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene—means that displaced people, refugee populations, and those in conflict zones are at risk of major outbreaks of the illness. Cholera also continues to occur…
