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How do latrines help prevent the spread of cholera?

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A woman in a pink dress receives medical treatment from nurses administering an IV at a crowded hospital in Saint-Marc, Haiti. — cholera A woman with cholera being treated by nurses at St. Nicholas Hospital in Saint-Marc, Haiti, 2010.

Latrines help prevent the spread of cholera by facilitating the hygienic disposal of human waste, which is critical to breaking the disease's transmission cycle.12

Cholera is an intestinal disease that spreads primarily through the fecal-oral route. Infection occurs when feces containing the bacterium Vibrio cholerae contaminate water sources or food supplies. By providing a controlled environment for waste disposal, latrines prevent human excrement from entering the environment, thereby reducing the risk that the bacteria will contaminate the water or soil used for drinking, irrigation, or food preparation.312

In areas that lack modern sewerage systems, the use of latrines is a vital intervention to lower the risk of infection and manage the spread of the disease.2