Cholera is mostly spread by_______

1. Analyze the question The question asks for the main way cholera is transmitted (spread) from person to person.

2. Explain the concept Cholera is a disease caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. It affects the intestines and causes severe watery diarrhoea, vomiting, and dehydration. It is a water-borne (and food-borne) disease, which means it spreads through the faecal-oral route:

• An infected person passes the bacteria out in their faeces.
• If that waste contaminates drinking water sources (wells, streams, rivers, boreholes with poor sanitation), the bacteria spread.
• Other people drink the contaminated water or eat food washed or prepared with it, and they become infected.

This is why cholera outbreaks often happen during floods or in areas with poor sanitation and no access to clean water.

3. Go through the options

• A. Air: Wrong. Air spreads diseases like tuberculosis, measles, and the common cold.
• B. Soil: Wrong. Soil is linked to tetanus and hookworm, not cholera.
• C. Water: Correct. Contaminated water is the main means of spreading cholera.
• D. Noise: Wrong. Noise is a form of pollution, not a carrier of disease.

4. Answer The correct option is C. water.

5. Exam tip Remember the water-borne diseases with the phrase "Cholera, Typhoid, Dysentery: drink dirty water and you're in misery." Also remember that malaria is spread by mosquitoes, TB by air (droplets), and tetanus by soil or wounds. WASSCE often tests which disease goes with which carrier.