Who is at risk of getting cholera?

Cholera is a threat wherever safe water supplies, sanitation, food safety and hygiene are inadequate.

Water, sanitation and hygiene facilities are often inadequate in overpopulated settings where there is overcrowding (like informal settlements, prisons or camps for displaced people or refugees). People living in high-risk areas can reduce their risk by practicing good hygiene and safe food preparation.

Children are more susceptible to cholera than adults; those living in densely populated areas are even more vulnerable.

How does cholera spread?

You can catch cholera by:

• Drinking contaminated water
• Eating contaminated food (e.g., food that is raw, poorly cooked, or that becomes contaminated with poo (faeces) during preparation or storage).
• Having contact with the poo (faeces), vomit, or things that have been contaminated with the poo or vomit of someone who has cholera.
• Having unprotected contact with the body of someone who has died from cholera

Cholera spreads most easily to people who do not have access to safe water and good sanitation.