Utah health officials rule out cholera infection

Utah health officials rule out cholera infection

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SALT LAKE CITY — Two local residents suspected to have cholera instead have a related disease that presents similar symptoms but is less infectious, according to the Salt Lake County Health Department.

Lab tests sent to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveal the patients being treated in Utah have vibriosis, which also results in watery, sometimes bloody stool, stomach cramps and other nausea-like symptoms also related to cholera.

Local health officials have ruled out any threat to the public, said health department spokesman Nicholas Rupp.

Vibriosis is most commonly caused by consumption of raw, undercooked or cross-contaminated seafood, but the bacteria is also found in contaminated water sources. The disease causes about 185 hospitalizations and 57 deaths in the U.S. each year. The latest confirmed cases of vibriosis in Salt Lake County were in 2014, 2011 and 2009.

The Salt Lake County Health Department is still working to determine the cause of infection for the local patients.

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Wendy Leonard

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