Ins and Outs of Vibrio cholerae

Abstract

The gram-negative, motile, curved-rod bacterium Vibrio cholerae can cause cholera —an acute, explosive diarrheal disease. Epidemic cholera was described in the 1500s, but reports of cholera-like symptoms date back much earlier, to the times of Hippocrates and the Buddha. In 1849 John Snow, a London physician, determined that cholera is transmitted by water, and in 1883 Robert Koch successfully isolated the cholera vibrio. Facilitated by the expansion of global trade routes, cholera spread worldwide in 1817 and remains a global health challenge.