Abstract
We used standardized methodologies to characterize Vibrio cholerae O1 isolates from Guinea, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Togo, Côte d’Ivoire and Mozambique. We investigated 257 human isolates collected in 2010 to 2013. DRC isolates serotyped O1 Inaba, while isolates from other countries serotyped O1 Ogawa. All isolates were biotype El Tor and positive for cholera toxin. All isolates showed multidrug resistance but lacked ciprofloxacin resistance. Antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of isolates varied between countries. In particular, the susceptibility profile of isolates from Mozambique (East-Africa) included resistance to ceftriaxone and was distinctly different to the susceptibility profiles of isolates from countries located in West- and Central-Africa. Molecular subtyping of isolates using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) analysis showed a complex relationship among isolates. Some PFGE patterns were unique to particular countries and clustered by country; while other PFGE patterns were shared by isolates from multiple countries, indicating that the same genetic lineage is present in multiple countries. Our data add to a better understanding of cholera epidemiology in Africa.
Highlights
Cholera is well-established in Africa, with numerous outbreaks reported and tens of thousands of deaths estimated to occur annually [1]
Conventional PCR and analysis of PCR products using agarose gel electrophoresis was used to detect the presence of allelic variants of the toxin co-regulated pilus which determined the biotype of V. cholerae O1 isolates [35]
pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns were analyzed using BioNumerics Software (Applied Maths, Sint-Martens-Latem, Belgium) with dendrograms of the patterns created using the unweighted pair group method with arithmetic averages (UPGMA), with analysis of banding patterns incorporating the Dice-coefficient at an optimization setting of 1.5% and a position tolerance setting of 1.5%
Summary
Cholera is well-established in Africa, with numerous outbreaks reported and tens of thousands of deaths estimated to occur annually [1]. We employed standardized methodologies to phenotypically and genotypically characterize, compare and investigate V. cholerae O1 isolates from Guinea, DRC, Togo, Côte d’Ivoire and Mozambique collected in 2010 to 2013, to provide a basis for understanding disease spread and the relatedness of circulating V. cholerae O1 isolates in sub-Saharan Africa. This information may highlight the emergence of new predominant multidrug-resistant or virulent clones, as well as provide baseline data for future comparisons, should new cholera cases emerge in Africa or on other continents
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.