Cholera arrives through water and leaves through hands. When a case is reported in your town, a handful of household habits decide whether it reaches your house.
Do these for as long as cases are reported
- Drink only water that has been boiled or chlorine-treated, including the water used to wash vegetables and to make ice.
- Store it covered, in a container nobody dips a hand or cup into.
- Wash hands with soap after the toilet and before food and cooking. Put soap and water by the latrine, not only in the kitchen.
- Eat food hot. Cover it. Reheat leftovers until steaming.
- Use a latrine, and keep it clean and away from the water source.
Keep ORS in the house before you need it
Buy a few sachets now and keep them where everyone can find them. The hours you would spend looking for a sachet during an outbreak are exactly the hours that matter.
If someone in the house gets it
- Start ORS immediately and keep giving it while you arrange to go.
- Keep their clothing and bedding separate, and disinfect with chlorine.
- The people who cared for them should watch themselves for a few days.
- Report it. The response protects the neighbourhood, and it only starts when a case is known.
The vaccine
An oral cholera vaccine is used in outbreaks and in high-risk areas. If a campaign comes to your quarter, take it. It does not replace clean water, and it does buy time while the water is fixed.