Pillars of MSF's cholera response
Cholera is easy to treat, with oral rehydration for most patients, and intravenous rehydration for more severe cases. If treated in time, more than 99% of patients will survive the disease. An effective response to cholera involves engaging on several different fronts at the same time—and as fast as possible—to treat sick patients and to stop transmission within communities.
The key pillars of this strategy rely on MSF's medical staff working alongside epidemiologists, water and sanitation experts, logistics managers and community health promoters. Since an effective oral vaccine became available within the past decade, we have also incorporated large-scale vaccination campaigns into our response.
A big part of MSF’s ability to respond quickly is our standardized, pre-positioned cholera treatment kits that come equipped with rehydration salts, antibiotics, and IVs, along with buckets, boots, chlorine, and plastic sheeting—in short, everything needed to hit the ground running after an outbreak is confirmed.