How Family Members Can Prevent Infection

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  • Drink and use safe water
  • Cook food thoroughly
  • Wash hands with soap and safe water after caring for the patients, and especially after handling poop
  • Remove and wash any bedding or clothing that may have had contact with diarrhea, preferably in a washing machine using warm or hot water. Usual machine detergents are sufficient; bleach is not necessary.
  • Use a flush toilet or approved septic system; double bag soiled materials (items contaminated with poop) when throwing them away.
  • Use any household disinfectant or a bleach solution made up of 1 part bleach to 9 parts water to clean any area that may have contact with poop, including the patient’s bathroom, bedpan, as soon as possible after being soiled.
  • When possible, use rubber gloves when cleaning any room or surface that may have had contact with the patient’s poop.
  • Patients with cholera should not swim until their symptoms have been gone for 2 weeks.
  • If another household member starts having diarrhea, give themoral rehydration solution (ORS) and go to a healthcare provider immediately.
  • While caring for persons who are sick with cholera, do not serve food or drink to anyone outside of the household.
  • Any visitors should be very careful to avoid touching contaminated surfaces and should wash hands thoroughly before leaving and again when they arrive at their next destination.
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Page last reviewed: September 8, 2020
Content source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID), Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases (DFWED)