CURRENT PERSPECTIVES AND CLINICAL CHALLENGES IN CHOLERA MANAGEMENT: AN EVIDENCE-BASED REVIEW FOR NURSING PRACTICE

Nader Saad Awad Al-Mutairi*, Mashan Mashal Hubaylis Alharthi, Shaie Saleh, Hzam Alkorbi Zid Aldossri, Mohammad Naseer Ali Alqahtani, Faisal Zabin Hashar Alotaibi

ABSTRACT

Background: Cholera remains a major global public health concern despite being a preventable and treatable infectious disease. Caused by Vibrio cholerae, it continues to produce substantial morbidity and mortality in regions with poor sanitation, inadequate access to safe water, humanitarian crises, and fragile healthcare systems. Nurses play a pivotal role in early recognition, prompt rehydration, infection prevention, patient education, and outbreak response. Aim: This review aimed to provide an evidence-based overview of the current perspectives on cholera, emphasizing its epidemiology, bacteriology, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, management, prevention, and the critical role of nursing practice in improving patient outcomes and supporting public health interventions. Methods: A comprehensive narrative review of contemporary literature and international evidence was conducted. Current recommendations from global health authorities and peer-reviewed publications were synthesized to examine advances in cholera epidemiology, pathogenesis, diagnostic approaches, clinical management, preventive strategies, and emerging challenges relevant to nursing care. Results: Cholera continues to affect approximately 2.9 million individuals annually and causes nearly 95,000 deaths worldwide, with the greatest burden occurring in Africa and other resource-limited settings. Disease transmission remains closely associated with contaminated water, inadequate sanitation, poverty, and humanitarian emergencies. Rapid diagnosis, aggressive fluid and electrolyte replacement, appropriate antimicrobial therapy, and continuous clinical monitoring remain the cornerstones of successful management. Oral rehydration therapy has dramatically reduced mortality, while vaccination, improved water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) programs, surveillance systems, and early outbreak detection represent essential preventive strategies. Nurses are central to patient assessment, dehydration monitoring, infection control, health education, vaccination support, and multidisciplinary coordination during outbreaks. Conclusion: Effective cholera control requires integration of evidence-based clinical management with comprehensive public health interventions. Strengthening nursing practice, expanding access to clean water and sanitation, improving surveillance, enhancing vaccination programs, and promoting global collaboration remain fundamental to reducing disease burden and achieving long-term cholera elimination.

Keywords: Cholera, Vibrio cholerae, nursing practice, dehydration, oral rehydration therapy, epidemiology, infection prevention, public health, WASH, oral cholera vaccine.