Epidemiological profile of outbreaks of cholera in India during 1975-1989.

Cholera has been present in India since antiquity. Six pandemics originated in Indian subcontinent. The present seventh pandemic caused by El Tor Vibrio cholerae started from Indonesia (Sulawesi) in 1961 and entered India in 1964. By the end of 1965 it has replaced the age old classical V. cholerae. Many of the States which never had cholera or were free from it for a long time got infected and became endemic foci of El Tor infection. This article reviews the epidemiological features of important outbreaks reported after 1975 in India.