Abstract

Cholera is known as an acute diarrheal disease that can be life-threatening in children, particularly under-five children. This study’s clinical observations found that it is equally lethal in young adults when prompt actions are not taken to combat the disease which is still a significant public health issue in Nigeria and West Africa, with outbreaks occurring in many communities. This case study focused on a young hypertensive woman who presented with florid symptoms of cholera including acute watery diarrhea and vomiting. She passed about one liter of watery stool in about 6 h. She was fatigued and severely dehydrated with clear evidence of dehydration. She had a fast thready, small volume pulse, hypotension, and hypovolemia. Findings on investigations revealed a rapid diagnostic test (RDT) for cholera in stool was positive and a stool microscopy, culture, and sensitivity test was confirmatory. Other ancillary tests were also suggestive: white blood cell (WBC) 10.6 × 109 L-1, neutrophils 78%, lymphocytes 13%, monocytes 9%, platelets 360 × 109 L-1. E/U/Cr (mmol/L) showed hypokalemia (potassium 3.0, sodium 142, urea 5.0, chloride 110, bicarbonate 21, and creatinine 126 umol/L). She had fluid and electrolyte deficit corrected vigorously with Normal saline and Ringer’s lactate. When she could take it orally, she continued with an oral rehydration solution until discharge. Home visits showed family and social support were helpful in sustaining the improvement of her care. This case study demonstrates cholera infection is still a common finding in adults just as seen in children with concomitant untoward effects except with prompt intervention. There is a need to scale up public sensitization and awareness campaigns for public health diseases that are both preventable and treatable in low-resource areas such as sub-Saharan Africa.

Key words: Cholera, diarrhea, dehydration, hypotension, hypovolemia, hypokalemia.