PLoS Medicine- Open Access Journal in Medicine

PLoS Medicine is the leading open-access medical journal, providing an innovative and influential venue for research and comment on the major challenges to human health worldwide. We specifically seek to publish papers which have relevance across a range of settings and that address the major environmental, social, and political determinants of health, as well as the biological.

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G. Balakrish Nair on the Microbiology of Cholera

Cholera is an infection of the human small intestine caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting which, if left untreated, leads to dehydration and rapidly to death. Historically, it was greatly feared in London and New York City, both of which were hit by pandemics in the 1830s. In developed countries that have good sanitation and few urban slums the disease is now virtually unknown. But in parts of the world with extreme poverty or where there have been natural disasters, such as Haiti, it affects millions of people and is responsible for about 100,000 deaths annually.

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