Home / Vaccinations / Cholera Vaccine
Travel vaccineCholera is a water-borne infection that can cause life-threatening dehydration within hours. The cholera vaccine is taken by mouth — no needle — and, as a useful bonus, also offers some protection against travellers' diarrhoea caused by E. coli.
Cholera is an acute intestinal infection caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. It spreads through food and water contaminated with sewage, and thrives where sanitation has broken down — after floods, in refugee camps, and in areas without safe water.
The hallmark is sudden, profuse watery diarrhoea. Fluid loss can be extraordinary — enough to cause severe dehydration, shock and kidney failure within hours.
Treatment is prompt rehydration with oral rehydration salts, or intravenous fluids in severe cases, with antibiotics where appropriate. Treated early, most people recover fully. Untreated, cholera can kill quickly.
The cholera vaccine used in Singapore is Dukoral — an oral vaccine, not an injection. The contents are mixed with a buffer solution in water and simply drunk.
It contains killed cholera bacteria along with a harmless part of the cholera toxin. It cannot cause cholera, and it primes your gut's immune defences where the infection would take hold.
A useful bonus: because the cholera toxin closely resembles the toxin made by enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC) — a leading cause of travellers' diarrhoea — Dukoral also gives some short-term protection against it.
Most tourists don't need it. Vaccination is recommended where the risk is genuinely raised.
Cholera is most common in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, and flares wherever sanitation fails — after floods, earthquakes or conflict. Risk changes quickly, so tell us your destination and dates.
The number of doses depends on age. Complete the course at least one week before you travel.
| Age group | Doses | Interval | Booster |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adults & children over 6 | 2 doses | 1 to 6 weeks apart | Within 2 years of the last dose |
| Children aged 2 to 6 | 3 doses | 1 to 6 weeks apart | After 6 months |
| Children under 2 | Not recommended | ||
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Because doses are spaced apart and the final one must be taken a week before departure, start the course several weeks before you fly. Leave it late and there may not be time to complete it.
No cholera vaccine offers complete protection — and food and water hygiene protects you against much more besides cholera.
The cholera vaccine substantially reduces your risk, but it isn't a guarantee. Nor does it protect against the many other bugs that cause travellers' illness — typhoid, hepatitis A, parasites and other bacteria among them.
Think of the vaccine as one layer of protection. Safe food and water practices are the foundation everything else sits on.
Dukoral is a killed oral vaccine and is generally well tolerated.
Cholera kills through dehydration, and it can do so within hours. If you develop sudden, profuse watery diarrhoea while travelling, start oral rehydration salts immediately and seek medical care urgently. Do not wait to see whether it settles.
The cholera vaccine is a travel vaccine and is self-funded — it isn't covered by CHAS, Healthier SG or other national subsidy schemes. Because the course involves two or three doses, ask us for the full course price. We can cover your other travel vaccines in the same consultation.
Plan ahead — the course takes a few weeks to complete.
Destination, dates and whether there's an active outbreak.
We check whether cholera vaccination is warranted, and what else you need.
Taken as a drink, with no food or drink an hour either side.
Final dose at least a week before you fly. We'll remind you.
Come and see us several weeks before you fly. We'll advise whether the cholera vaccine is warranted, and cover your other travel health needs in one visit.
Book a travel consultationThe requirements and recommendations on this page are drawn from official Singapore government sources:
This page is general information, not medical advice, and requirements can change. Always confirm the current position with the relevant Singapore government agency, or speak to our doctors about your own circumstances.