Surveillance of vibriophages reveals their role as biomonitoring agents in Kolkata.

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.