Cholera

Sheet SP-1003 is a public-health poster in bold line drawings on orange panels showing patients lying under blankets, a man clutching his stomach while another figure walks away, and a person vomiting into a bowl. The text says cholera is very dangerous, spreads very fast and can kill within a few hours, and lists symptoms: abdominal pain, urinating 15 or 30 times a day, heavy vomiting, thirst, rapid weight loss and a weak pulse. The tell: the urgency rests on the speed of death, with no instruction on this sheet beyond recognising the signs.

Propaganda techniques used in this poster

Fear appeal

Date

1965

Period

Cold War

Made by

Joint U.S. Public Affairs Office (JUSPAO) printing section, for the South Vietnamese government (sheet carries no issuing office)

Region

North America

Country

United States

Medium

Poster

Issuer type

State

Regime

Johnson Administration

Leader

Lyndon B. Johnson

Audience

Domestic public

Purpose

Warn or inform

Theme

Health

Event

Vietnam War

Source

Unidentified Source blurred: contractors, cutouts, buried disclosure

Source

U.S. National Archives (NARA), RG 306, Psychological Warfare Posters, Vietnam War (NAID 561393), retrieved October 3, 2026

Rights

NARA Unrestricted; hosted by owner decision
Joint U.S. Public Affairs Office (JUSPAO) printing section, for the South Vietnamese government (sheet carries no issuing office). National Archives and Records Administration, 306-VP-8-1003.

BỆNH TẢ
TẦM QUAN TRỌNG

BỆNH TẢ RẤT NGUY HIỂM
LAN TRUYỀN RẤT NHANH

BỆNH NHÂN CÓ THỂ CHẾT SAU VÀI BA GIỜ

DẤU HIỆU VÀ TRIỆU CHỨNG

ĐAU BỤNG ĐI TIỂU NHIỀU TỚI 15 HAY 30 LẦN MỖI NGÀY

NÔN MỬA NHIỀU, KHÁT NƯỚC, SỤT CÂN NHANH MẠCH YẾU

SP-1003

CHOLERA
IMPORTANCE

Cholera is very dangerous and spreads very fast.

A patient can die after a few hours.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

Abdominal pain, urinating a lot, up to 15 or 30 times a day.

Heavy vomiting, thirst, rapid weight loss, weak pulse.

SP-1003