Wuhan University: No need to panic about student cholera case

A student of Wuhan University has been confirmed with cholera infection but the institution in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, insisted on Monday that there was no need to panic.

The sick student has received timely treatment and is in stable situation, and three people identified as his close contacts – two roommates and a third who had dined with him – have been isolated, according to the university.

Following diarrhea and vomiting amid fever, the student sought medical help at the university hospital on the evening of July 8 and was later referred to a larger hospital for his rather severe diarrhea.

The next day, the disease control authorities of the district where the university is located informed the varsity that the student was suspected to have cholera.

He was later confirmed to be infected by the O139 strain of Vibrio cholerae, one of the two serogroups of the bacterium that have been found to cause cholera outbreaks.

By the evening of July 10, 264 people of the key infection control population related to his case and 259 places were subject to examinations, but no further infection was discovered, the university said.​

Certain areas linked to the case were shut down temporarily, and some people were given preventive medicine, it added.

Cholera, an acute diarrhoeal infection caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae, can kill within hours if left untreated.

While most of the infected people have no or mild symptoms and can be successfully treated with oral rehydration solution, severe cases need rapid treatment with intravenous fluids and antibiotics, according to the World Health Organization.

The bacteria, however, are present in the faeces of the infected for up to 10 days after infection and are shed back into the environment, potentially infecting other people.

In China, cholera, along with plague, is categorized as a top emergency level infectious disease. Cases of the disease have been reported rather sporadically in recent decades, with five reported last year but no deaths.

The university said it's operating normally at the moment and that it has taken measures to protect the health of its staff and students.