Das Mayukh, Bhowmick Tushar Suvra, Nandy Ranjan K, Nair Gopinath B, Sarkar Banwarilal L
Division of Bacteriology, National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, Kolkata, India.
FEMS Microbiol Ecol. 2009 Mar;67(3):502-10. doi: 10.1111/j.1574-6941.2008.00634.x.
Cholera is a public health threat in all developing countries. Kolkata, a city in eastern India, is an endemic zone for cholera. During the course of a comprehensive investigation on the distribution of phages of Vibrio cholerae O1 and O139 in freshwater bodies in Kolkata, we were able to isolate the phages of V. cholerae O1 and O139. Vibrio cholerae O1 phages were found at all the sites and exhibited a distinct seasonal cycle, with a primary peak (13.6-17.2 PFU mL(-1)) during monsoon (June to August) in both 2006 and 2007. Vibrio cholerae O139 phages were present in the environment and were predominant during monsoon in the year 2006, except for late winter and early summer from February to April. In contrast, in the year 2007, the O139 phages could be isolated only during July to December, with the highest counts of 12.0 PFU mL(-1) determined in August. The multiplex PCR results showed that 90 samples were positive for wbe of V. cholerae O1, 32 samples for O139 (wbf) and 18 samples for both. This study shows that surveillance of vibriophages indicates the presence of V. cholerae O1 and O139 in water bodies in and around Kolkata and could therefore serve as a powerful biomonitoring agent.
霍乱在所有发展中国家都是一种公共卫生威胁。印度东部城市加尔各答是霍乱的地方性流行区。在对加尔各答淡水体中霍乱弧菌O1和O139噬菌体分布进行的全面调查过程中，我们成功分离出了霍乱弧菌O1和O139的噬菌体。在所有地点均发现了霍乱弧菌O1噬菌体，且呈现出明显的季节性周期，在2006年和2007年的季风期（6月至8月）均出现一个主要峰值（13.6 - 17.2 PFU mL(-1)）。霍乱弧菌O139噬菌体存在于环境中，在2006年除2月至4月的冬末和初夏外，在季风期占主导地位。相比之下，在2007年，仅在7月至12月期间可分离到O139噬菌体，8月测定的最高计数为12.0 PFU mL(-1)。多重PCR结果显示，90份样本霍乱弧菌O1的wbe呈阳性，32份样本O139（wbf）呈阳性，18份样本两者均呈阳性。本研究表明，对弧菌噬菌体的监测表明加尔各答及其周边水体中存在霍乱弧菌O1和O139，因此可作为一种强大的生物监测剂。
