Abstract

Vibrio cholerae (V. cholerae) is a Gram-negative, curved, rod-shaped bacteria with two of its strains V. cholerae O1 and V. cholerae O139) known to cause cholera, a deadly diarrheal disease that has repeatedly plagued the world in pandemics since 1817 and still remains a public health problem globally till today. The pathogens’ persistence in aquatic milieux during inter-epidemic periods is facilitated by the production of a biofilm, thus evolving from being an infection of oral-fecal transmission to a more composite ecological framework of a communicable disease. The outbreaks of cholera spread rapidly in various intensities within and among countries and even continents and the World Health Organization estimates that 3–5 million cases outbreak and over 200 000 die yearly from cholera. Also, the impact of a cholera epidemic is not limited to its high morbidity and mortality rates alone, but also the grievous impact on the economy of the countries experiencing the outbreaks. In this review, we carried out an overview of V. cholerae including its isolation and detection, genetics as well as a comparison of the toxigenic and non-toxigenic determinants in the human host and the host defences. Furthermore, the history of global pandemics, cost implications, conflict and ecological methodologies of cholera prevention and control. The management of disease and antibiotic resistance in V. cholerae are also highlighted.

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