Carried by contaminated water or food, it causes severe dehydration through diarrhoea and can prove fatal if untreated.

BBC: Cholera fear in Cuba as officials keep silent

It causes severe dehydration through diarrhoea and can prove fatal if untreated.

BBC: Cuba confirms 51 cholera cases in Havana

It is highly contagious and can lead to severe dehydration and death.

CNN: WHO: 60,000 at risk of cholera in Zimbabwe

That puts the body into starvation mode, which can result in serious medical conditions like osteoporosis, severe dehydration and even heart failure, according to the National Eating Disorders Association.

CNN: What's the danger of an all-fruit diet?

The FDA last March asked pediatricians to stop administering GlaxoSmithKline's Rotarix, a vaccine that prevents rotavirus infection, a diarrheal illness that commonly affects infants and children and that can cause severe dehydration.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Paterson's runner Tim Kjenstad, a 51-year-old California firefighter, has run Badwater before, but this year, sacked by severe dehydration and bodily functions that don't need to be mentioned, he had to DNF (the dreaded initials for Did Not Finish) at mile 44.

CNN: Badwater Ultramarathon: 135 miles in 130-degree heat

Over the course of 13 months, doctors across the UK and Ireland will be asked by the British Paediatric Surveillance Unit every four weeks to report the number of babies they have seen with severe hypernatraemic dehydration.

BBC: Breastfed baby risk investigated

Suffering from Crohn's disease can mean debilitating pain, fistula surgery and diarrhea that can be so severe it can bring on dehydration.

CNN: Living with Crohn's disease: 'Today I will fight again'

The second causes severe diarrhoea, which can lead to dehydration and death.

ECONOMIST: A sick inventory

The Defense Department has said the donor died of severe stomach and intestinal inflammation with complications including dehydration and seizure.

NPR: NC Airman At Center Of Rabies Case Was Outdoorsman