Abstract

Cholera epidemic is a recurrent disease in developing countries with poor environmental sanitation and inadequate supply of potable water. In endemic areas of West Africa, opinions and myths surrounding the real causes of cholera diseases have given rise to varying methods of control. This review gives an insight into these various opinions and myths. Some of these are that magico-religious factors, witchcraft, eating soil, god’s will and evil air in the community are responsible for cholera outbreaks. Wrong perception and myth of cholera hinders acceptance and accessibility to launch effective operational response to affected communities during an outbreak. This also lead to delay in providing intervention and treatment during an outbreak.

Key words: Myths, aetiology, Vibrio cholerae, epidemic, perception