Ann Clin Microbiol.  2013 Mar;16(1):25-32. 10.5145/ACM.2013.16.1.25.

Genetic Characteristics and Relatedness of Imported Vibrio cholerae O1 Biotype El Tor in Korea

• Kim H
• Jeon S
• Kim J
• Kim S
• Lee DY

• KMID: 2169599
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5145/ACM.2013.16.1.25

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Cholera is a representative water-borne disease that is caused by V. cholera ctx (+). V. cholera El Tor was previously the primary pathogen, but after the seventh pandemic outbreak, it was replaced by a V. cholera El Tor variant with a classical phenotype and genotype. In this study, we investigated the genotypic and phenotypic characteristics of imported V. cholerae El Tor in Korea.
METHODS
Forty-nine V. cholerae O1 El Tor strains isolated from 2004 to 2011 were used in this study. Polymerase chain reaction amplification of the ctxB and rstR genes was used for biotype determination. An antimicrobial susceptibility test was performed for phenotypic analysis, and pulse field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) was used for analysis of genetic relatedness.
RESULTS
Classical ctxB genes were found in all of the isolates, while classical, El Tor, and combined rstR genes were found. Twenty strains showed antimicrobial resistance against streptomycin, sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim, nalidixic acid, and ciprofloxacin. Based on PFGE, all isolates were grouped as cluster B. The country of origin and resistance pattern were highly related, although the time of influx and serogroup were not.
CONCLUSION
Isolates of V. cholera El Tor imported since 2004 were hybrids of V. cholera El Tor, which has the classical ctxB gene and is considered to be a CTX prophage. The SXT element plays an important role in antimicrobial resistance. PFGE patterns, which can be used for analysis of imported V. cholera, revealed the relatedness of the resistant isolates.

Keyword

Antimicrobial resistance; PFGE; V. cholerae El Tor

MeSH Terms

Chimera
Cholera
Ciprofloxacin
Electrophoresis
Genotype
Korea
Nalidixic Acid
Pandemics
Phenotype
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Prophages
Streptomycin
Vibrio
Vibrio cholerae
Vibrio cholerae O1
Ciprofloxacin
Nalidixic Acid
Streptomycin

Figure

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  Fig. 1. Dendrogram of Not I-digested PFGE patterns V. cholerae O1 El Tor strains. PFGE pattern is grouped as cluster B and showing high similarity with their imported nation (90%) and antimicrobial resistance pattern (92%).

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