If Cholera appears, the first job is to stop repeating the exposure. Pond, stream and lake water can carry the pathogen. Freshly spawned Plastic Bottles and Canteens can also contain contaminated water, and food or drink touched by an infected survivor can reinfect you after treatment. A Blood transfusion from a sick survivor can also transmit the disease.
Cholera is a water-route problem before it is a pill problem
The strongest Cholera pattern is unsafe-water exposure followed by Fever/forehead wiping, blur, rapid dehydration and vomiting when the survivor tries to consume too much at once. Vomiting by itself is not enough; Salmonellosis, Food Poisoning, gas exposure and simple stomach overfilling can also cause it.
Why large drinks make the problem look worse
Cholera sharply reduces effective stomach capacity. That is why a sick survivor can vomit after a drink that would be harmless when healthy. Each vomiting episode throws away Water and Energy you are trying to restore. The field rule is simple: use very small sips and bites, pause, let the stomach clear, then repeat.
Treatment: Tetracycline, Multivitamins and stability
• Stop using the suspected water/food item and move to a clean source.
• Take one Tetracycline dose or use Multivitamins as a supported treatment route. The same medicine does not become stronger by taking duplicate doses simultaneously.
• Keep Heat Comfort safe and restore Water/Energy using tiny controlled amounts.
• When the current medication effect expires, reassess symptoms before using the next needed dose.
• Clean or replace contaminated containers/food so the recovered survivor does not immediately reinfect themself.
The current treatment effect lasts a Tetracycline effect duration of about five minutes. Cholera may require several sequential treatment windows depending on progression. Exact pill counts vary with how advanced the disease is; use the symptoms and medication effect rather than assuming one tablet must always be enough.
The sickness icon can disappear early
Current Cholera documentation warns that the sickness icon may vanish before the infection is fully cleared. That is a reason to watch the medication effect and symptoms instead of immediately returning to the suspect food or water. Do not use the disappearance of one HUD icon as permission to repeat the original exposure.
Prevent reinfection: the container matters
Common Cholera mistakes
• Drinking a full container quickly because the Water icon is red.
• Taking Charcoal because “vomiting means food poisoning.”
• Using Tetracycline but continuing to drink from the same contaminated bottle.
• Treating Chlorine Tablets as medicine for an infection already inside the character.
• Sharing partly consumed water/food with a sick teammate and creating a reinfection loop.
• Assuming one disappearing sickness icon proves every pathogen has cleared.
Situation | Safe response
Water Pump / clean Water Spring | Drink or refill normally; wash bloody hands before direct drinking.
Found bottle/canteen with existing water | Safest: empty and refill at a clean source; otherwise purify correctly.
Pond / stream / lake | Treat before routine drinking: chlorine or a valid boiling setup.
Food/water partly consumed by a sick survivor | Do not share it; replace or purify water as appropriate.
Recovered survivor still carrying the suspect drink | Remove the contamination before using it again; reinfection is possible.