Diarrheal diseases including cholera are the leading cause of
morbidity and the second-most common cause of death
among children under the age of 5 worldwide (1, 2). Cholera
alone, caused by the marine bacterium Vibrio cholerae, is responsible
for several million cases and an estimated 120,000
deaths annually.* Among the >200 serogroups of V. cholerae, O1
and O139 are responsible for cholera pandemics, whereas non-O1
and non-O139 are often associated with localized outbreaks of
cholera-like illnesses.