Cholera reached New York in 1832. In 1848, Cholera Morbus and Dysentery  were diseases that Michael Sullivan described to Hopper as afflicting men incarcerated in Sing Sing during his term there. Sullivan claimed that:

Seventeen have died of the Cholera Morbus and dysentery- No funeral service has been performed since Wells came into office."

Cholera Morbus is a disease that is described as “potentially fatal bilious derangement arising from too great a secretion of bile, the bitter, brownish-yellow fluid secreted by the liver into the duodenum as an aid to digestion.” Cholera Morbus is a broad term for cholera and was flexibly used to describe symptoms of dysentery and diarrhea. The symptoms of Cholera Morbus are diarrhea, vomiting, stomachache, and cramps. This bowl disorder is caused by contaminated water or food by flies that have fed off of human, animal, or organic waste. Cholera Morbus is now easily treatable disease in developed countries. Treatment plans include rehydration and the use of antibiotics. 

The death of these individuals that Michael Sullivan cites shows the injustice within the prison system. The stories told by prisoners illuminate the horrid treatment that occurred in prison at the time. 

Sources:

Rousseau, George S., and David Boyd Haycock. 2003. “Coleridge’s Choleras: Cholera Morbus, Asiatic Cholera, and Dysentery in Early Nineteenth-Century England.” Bulletin of the History of Medicine 77 (2): 298. doi:10.1353/bhm.2003.0086

150 years of cholera epidemiology. (2005). The Lancet, 366(9490), 957. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(05)67345-X

Rosenberg, Charles E. 1987. The Cholera Years: the United States In 1832, 1849, and 1866. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.