Multilocus variable-number tandem repeat analysis of Vibrio cholerae O1 El Tor strains harbouring classical toxin B.

Atypical Vibrio cholerae O1 strains - hybrid strains (strains that cannot be classified either as El Tor or classical biotype) and altered strains (El Tor biotype strains that produce classical cholera toxin) - are currently prevalent in Asia and Africa. A total of 74 hybrid and altered strains that harboured classical cholera toxin were investigated by multilocus variable-number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA). The results showed that the hybrid/altered strains could be categorized into three groups and that they were distant from the El Tor strain responsible for the seventh cholera pandemic. Hybrid/altered strains with a tandem repeat of the classical CTX prophage on the small chromosome were divided into two MLVA groups (group I: Mozambique/Bangladesh group; group III: Vietnam group), and altered strains with the RS1-CTX prophage containing the El Tor type rstR and classical ctxB on the large chromosome were placed in two MLVA groups (group II: India/Bangladesh group; group III: India/Vietnam group).