Open Syndrome Confirmed Case of Cholera
Table of Contents
Authors: Instituto Nacional de Salud
Location: Colombia
Purpose #
Laboratory confirmation with positive fecal culture for toxigenic Vibrio cholerae O1 or O139
The definition #
This is a suspect case that meets any of the following criteria. Confirmation by laboratory with positive stool culture for toxigenic Vibrio cholerae O1 or O139. Confirmation by epidemiological link: • Individual who fits the definition of a suspect case, and has history of contact with a confirmed cholera patient within a period of five days • or a history of active circulation of V. cholerae serotype O1 or O139 toxigenic in the workplace or residence of the case. An area of active circulation is considered one where toxigenic Vibrio cholerae O1 or O139 has been isolated from biological or environmental samples (water, food or food remains).
Machine-readable definition #
The definition is available in JSON format following the Open Syndrome v1.0 specification:
{
"category": "confirmed",
"definition_type": "case_definition",
"description": "Laboratory confirmation with positive fecal culture for toxigenic Vibrio cholerae O1 or O139",
"human_readable_definition": "This is a suspect case that meets any of the following criteria.\n Confirmation by laboratory with positive stool culture for toxigenic Vibrio cholerae O1 or O139.\n Confirmation by epidemiological link:\n • Individual who fits the definition of a suspect case, and has history of contact with a confirmed cholera patient within a period of five days\n • or a history of active circulation of V. cholerae serotype O1 or O139 toxigenic in the workplace or residence of the case.\n An area of active circulation is considered one where toxigenic Vibrio cholerae O1 or O139 has been isolated from biological or environmental samples (water, food or food remains).",
"inclusion_criteria": [
{
"logical_operator": "OR",
"name": "Confirmation by Laboratory with Positive Culture of Stool",
"type": "criterion",
"values": [
{
"name": "Confirmation by Laboratory with Positive Culture of Stool for Vibrio cholerae O1",
"type": "diagnostic_test"
},
{
"name": "Confirmation by Laboratory with Positive Culture of Stool for O139 Toxigenic",
"type": "diagnostic_test"
}
]
}
],
"keywords": [
"Latin America",
"Cholera"
],
"language": "English",
"location": "Colombia",
"notes": [
"Human-readable definition was automatically translated from Spanish to English."
],
"open_syndrome_version": "1.0.0",
"organization": "Instituto Nacional de Salud",
"published_at": "2025-02-27T16:16:26Z",
"published_by": [
"Open Syndrome Initiative"
],
"published_in": "https://opensyndrome.org",
"references": [
{
"citation": "Colombia. Instituto Nacional de Salud. Protocolo de Vigilancia\nen Salud Pública de Cólera. versión 4. [Internet] 2022.\nhttps://doi.org/10.33610/infoeventos.5",
"url": "https://www.ins.gov.co/buscador-eventos/Lineamientos/Pro_C%C3%B3lera.pdf"
}
],
"scope": "specific",
"status": "draft",
"target_public_health_threats": [
"Cholera"
],
"title": "Open Syndrome Confirmed Case of Cholera",
"version": "1.0.0"
}
Using the Definition #
Healthcare organizations can implement this definition through:
- Direct integration with surveillance systems
- API endpoints for real-time validation
- Manual case verification processes
Next Steps #
We encourage:
- Clinical feedback on the definition criteria
- Technical feedback on the implementation format
- Suggestions for additional symptoms or signs
- Reports of implementation experiences
Get Involved #
We welcome contributions and feedback from the community.