Building larger cruise ships to carry more people seems to bring out the worst in localized health epidemics.

If untreated, it can be fatal in a matter of hours.
It causes severe diarrhea and dehydration.

They better figure out how to stay alive.

But exposes another health inflection point for communicable diseases in a closed environment over many days.

We have a group of people with a serious, fatal disease spread by contaminated food or water.

Some of these people will be having constant and serious diarrhea in close quarters with questionable
sanitation and cleaning crews.

If they dock at a port, the ship's sewage has to go somewhere.

In terms of treatment, they are going to need IV hydration and antibiotics.

These are some very lucky people.

It said they were experiencing mild stomach symptoms. Cholera causes severe diarrhea and dehydration. What makes them think it’s cholera and not some other stomach virus, like rotavirus ?

I’m guessing it’s just an over abundance of caution.

Gastroenteritis, also known as the stomach flu, can be caused by viruses, bacteria, parasites, or chemicals. The most common cause of viral gastroenteritis is norovirus.

Gastroenteritis is a symptom. Cholera is one cause of gastroenteritis. We knew they had gastroenteritis even before we knew it wasn’t cholera.

A symptom with many causes from flu to food poisoning....to cholera. Cholera is a specific bacteria that can be tested for. So, they know it's not that, possibly deadly, disease.

But it could still be another contagious disease. Yikes, cruise ships are just perfect environments for spreading disease.

I have visions of that scene from Triangle of Sadness

Waving patients off the ‘stomach flu’ self-diagnosis is as big a part of my practice as telling them that antibiotics will not treat a viral infection.

I wish people would stop using the term.

Cholera is a bacterial infection from contaminated water. Or even raw fruits/veggies watered with contaminated water. In developing countries like southern region of Africa, salad can kill you.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cholera

While the passengers toured by bus on land, they all ate at the same restaurant and everyone came down with food poisoning. A number of them were so bad they were hospitalized and a lot of others were given fluids by IV in their cabins on the cruise liner because they were so sick they became dehydrated. That might be what occurred while people on this cruise were in South Africa. The symptoms are a lot the same.