Cholera disease is easily spread and should be a concern for all travelers, not just those going to areas with current outbreaks like Haiti. While symptoms like diarrhea and vomiting only appear in some cases, asymptomatic carriers can still spread cholera through contaminated water or close contact with infected individuals. The current outbreak in Haiti originated from peacekeepers who unknowingly brought and spread cholera while assisting with earthquake relief efforts, highlighting how easily cholera can be transmitted internationally.

1. How can you
prevent cholera
when traveling?
Cholera disease is a sickness that has
largely been forgotten. It appears to
garner notice only during times of a
terrifying outbreak.
Should all travellers, however, be
concerned about cholera? Should you
even bother preparing for the disease
if you're not going to Haiti?
Few countries are now dealing with
such a tenacious cholera outbreak.
You should be able to avoid cholera by
being cautious about what you drink
and avoiding sick individuals abroad,
right?
Those symptoms are easy to
recognise, but they only appear in 5-
10% of persons who have the infection.
However, even if no symptoms are
present, a person can spread cholera.
This is one of the many causes of the
current disease outbreak in Haiti.
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Following the country's terrible
earthquake in 2010, peacekeepers
from around the world arrived to assist
with relief efforts. A group of these
Nepalese peacekeepers travelled while
sick with cholera. The peacekeepers,
unaware of their sickness, spread the
disease and caused an epidemic.