Non-cholera Vibrios Research Articles

Failure to find cholera and noncholera vibrios in diarrheal disease in Mexico City, 1966-67.

Failure to find cholera and noncholera vibrios in diarrheal disease in Mexico City, 1966-67.

Transmissible plasmid factors and fertility inhibition in Vibrio cholerae.

Summary: Conjugation in Vibrio cholerae is mediated by a sex factor, designated the P factor. The present report is concerned with the identification of another transmissible factor, labelled the V factor, in a strain of non-cholera vibrio. Although the P and V factors are compatible and may coexist in a cell, a phenomenon of repression of P is observed in the presence of the V factor. There is, however, a brief time lag during which P− V+ cells, newly infected with the P factor, are fertile. The evidence points to the development of a repression mechanism after infection with the P factor in these strains. Rare recombinants having the O antigens of the non-cholera vibrio strain (donor) were isolated from a strain of V. cholerae (recipient) after conjugation. One such recombinant was P+V− and could therefore be used to obtain similar antigenic hybrids from other strains of V. cholerae.

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli isolated from patients with severe cholera-like disease.

The syndrome, characterized by profuse rice-water diarrhea leading to collapse, is produced classically by Vibrio cholerae, although it also may be seen in infection by non-cholera vibrios [1], and in a significant proportion of patients from whom no etiologic agent can be identified [2], The latter category of patients has continued to be an enigma, in spite of sophisticated techniques of culturing stools. During the 1968 cholera season in Calcutta, 17 patients admitted to the Infectious Diseases Hospital with severe diarrheal disease, but from whom no enteric pathogens could be isolated, were studied extensively by intubation and perfusion of the small bowel [3, 4]. Most of these patients were found to be colonized in the small bowel with either a single serotype of Escherichia coli, or a mixture of coliform bacteria. As reported, these patients had secretory abnormalities of the small bowel, similar in kind to those seen

Characteristics of non-cholera vibrios isolated from patients with diarrhoea.

SUMMARY Forty-seven non-cholera vibrios (NCV) isolated from patients admitted to a Calcutta hospital with acute diarrhoea were investigated. Most of the strains belonged to Heiberg groups (HG) I, II and VII. A detailed biochemical study proved that organisms allocated to HG I and II are related to each other in sharing many biochemical activities, whereas NCV of HG VII are biochemically inactive. The HG-VII strains were characterised by their instability in saline or acriflavine or in both, lack of pellicle formation, and resistance to 25 γ of ampicillin; they gave negative reactions in lactose fermentation tests and in the ONPG, Simmons’ citrate, K-P organic acid fermentation, V-P, and haemolysin tests. The authors wish to thank Professor J. B. Chatterjea, Director, School of Tropical Medicine, Calcutta, for his kind help during this investigation. The technical assistance of the late Mr B. R. Roy Chowdhury and Mr S. R. Sen Gupta is appreciated. Mr W. A. Cox of Allen and Hanbury Ltd, Ware, Herts, England, kindly supplied the sample of Vibriostatin 0/129.

Polyphasic taxonomy of the genus Vibrio: polynucleotide sequence relationships among selected Vibrio species.

Polynucleotide relationships among selected Vibrio species were examined by means of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) reassociation reactions and chromatography on hydroxyapatite. Relative levels of intraspecific DNA duplex formation (V. cholerae-V. cholerae and V. parahaemolyticus-V. parahaemolyticus) were found to be high at 60 C (>80%), and only minimally reduced at 75 C. Interspecific DNA duplexes between V. cholerae DNA and that of the non-cholera vibrios also exhibited high relative levels of formation at 60 C (>80%) and, with one exception, were only slightly reduced at 75 C. The thermal stability of these duplexes formed at 60 or 75 C was virtually identical to that of homologous V. cholerae DNA duplexes. The degree of reassociation and the thermal stability of V. cholerae-non-cholera vibrio DNA duplexes suggests relatively little evolutionary divergence in these organisms. In all other interspecific DNA reassociation reactions, only low levels of DNA duplex formation were noted at 60 C (<25%), and these were drastically reduced (>50%) at 75 C. The degree of nucleotide sequence divergence indicated by these reactions suggests that these Vibrio species are not significantly related to V. cholerae or V. parahaemolyticus. Reassociation reactions between V. cholerae DNA and the DNA of V. parahaemolyticus indicated these species were not significantly related to each other.

Esterases and DNA base composition analysis of Vibrio cholerae and related vibrios.

SUMMARYEsterases of strains of Vibrio cholerae, V. parahaemolyticus, noncholera and marine vibrios were examined by electrophoresis in starch gels. The enzyme patterns indicated a relative homogeneity occurring amongst the strains. No separation of the genus Vibrio into subgroups corresponding to the El Tor, classical cholera or noncholera groupings was noted. Overall deoxyribonucleic acid base composition for the Vibrio spp. ranged from 44‐49 mol% guanine + cytosine, with the marine vibrios lowest in guanine + cytosine content. Enzyme patterns for cholera vibrios isolated during very recent epidemics were identical to those of established laboratory strains, suggesting a marked stability of the esterase system for V. cholerae.

DIARRHEA CAUSED BY NON-CHOLERA VIBRIOS.

Summary Patients with diarrheal illness occurring in Dacca, East Pakistan, from whom cultures showed heavy growths of non-cholera vibrios (NCV) were studied. Cases occurred in both sexes and in both local residents and in U. S. personnel residing in Dacca. Unequivocal antibody titer rises against the infecting NCV were demonstrated in sera from certain cases. Survey of healthy individuals in the area failed to reveal any people with heavy infections of NCV. Small numbers of organisms from the three strains tested were able to produce a diarrheal disease in infant rabbits, and complete protection against diarrhea followed passive administration of hyperimmune serum. The demonstrated pathogenicity for man and the widespread distribution of NCV in surface waters of the world suggest that simple methods designed to identify these organisms should be included in the laboratory routines used in the study of diarrhea.

Studies on immunity to Asiatic cholera. X. Heat stable cell wall and intracellular antigens of Vibrio cholerae independent of agglutinogens and demonstrable by passive hemagglutination.

not follow that such superficially located antigens reflect completely the antigenic mosaic of the entire cell. If not, then antigens other than agglutinogens may be present in the cell, and an antigenic structure concerned only with agglutinogens is incomplete. In studies on the mouse protection test for antibody protective against challenge inoculation with Vibrio cholerae (Burrows, Mather, Elliott and Havens, 1947), it was found that an appreciable amount of mouse protective antibody, one-fourth to one-third of the initial titer, was demonstrable by the passive protection test in antiserums homologous to the challenge vibrio strain but exhausted of homologous agglutinins. It was concluded that Protective antibody was associated with antibody to heat stable vibrio antigen, but was not necessarily identical with O agglutinin. Similar results were reported later (Burrows, 1953) when it was shown that an analogous partial protection against enteric infection of the guinea pig with V. cholerae could be obtained by active immunization with O vaccine prepared with a noncholera vibrio strain whose

The Properties and Agglutinations of Some Non-Pathogenic Vibrios

In routine examinations for cholera many observers have noted the occurrence of certain organisms morphologically resembling the cholera vibrio, but differing from it in negative agglutination with an anticholera serum, and in the slight or non-pathogenicity to animals. They are usually found in individuals free from any symptoms of disease, and do not give rise to any known lesion in man. These aberrant types are known as the non-cholera vibrios, and their importance rests not so much upon any intrinsic properties of their own as in the fact of their association with the cholera organism in outbreaks of that disease.