The best form of cholera prevention is to establish good sanitation and waste treatment systems. In the absence of adequate sewage treatment, the following guidelines should be followed to reduce the possibility of infection:

• Boil it. Drink and brush teeth only with water that has been boiled or treated with chlorine or iodine tablets. Safe drinks include coffee and tea made with boiling water or carbonated bottled water and carbonated soft drinks.
• Cook it. Eat only thoroughly cooked foods, and eat them while they are still hot. Avoid eating food from street vendors.
• Peel it. Eat only fruit or nuts with a thick intact skin or shell that is removed immediately before eating.
• Forget it. Do not eat raw foods such as oysters or ceviche. Avoid salads and raw vegetables. Do not use untreated ice cubes in otherwise safe drinks.
• Stay out of it. Do not swim or fish in polluted water.

Preventive measures following natural disasters include guaranteeing the purity of community drinking water, either by large-scale chlorination and boiling, or by bringing in bottled or purified water from the outside. Other important preventive measures at the community level include provision for the safe disposal of human feces and good food hygiene.

Because cholera is one of the few infectious diseases that can be spread by human remains (through fecal matter leaking from corpses into the water supply), emergency workers who handle human remains are at increased risk of infection. It is considered preferable to bury corpses rather than to cremate them, however, and to allow survivors time to conduct appropriate burial ceremonies or rituals. The remains should be disinfected prior to burial, and buried at least 90 feet (30 m) away from sources of drinking water.

A cholera vaccine exists that can be given to travelers and residents of areas where cholera is known to be active, but the vaccine is not highly effective. It provides only 25–50% immunity, and then only for a period of about six months. The vaccine is never given to infants under six months of age. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention do not currently recommend cholera vaccination for travelers. Residents of cholera-plagued areas should discuss the value of the vaccine with their doctor.

A newer cholera vaccine known as Peru-15 underwent phase II trials in the summer of 2003. As of mid-2004, the manufacturer is planning phase III trials in a developing country and in travelers. Peru-15 is classified as a single-dose recombinant vaccine.