Cholera-infected pump. Historical artwork showing Death supplying water infected with the cholera bacteria from a pump. Cholera is an acute illness caused by Vibrio cholerae bacteria which colonize the small intestine. Cholera starts with diarrhea and vomiting between one and five days after infection. Up to half a liter of fluid may be lost each hour and, if not replaced, death may follow within only a few hours due to dehydration. This cartoon was produced after the British physician John Snow (1813-1858) linked a cholera outbreak in London, England, in 1854, to a pump contaminated by a sewer pipe running nearby. It is taken from an edition of Fun published on August 18th 1866.