Non-O Group 1Vibrio choleraeGastroenteritis in the United States

Abstract

Fourteen sporadic cases of non-O group 1 V. cholerae gastroenteritis were identified through isolates submitted to the Centers for Disease Control, USA, in 1979. All the ill persons had diarrhea, 13 had abdominal cramps, 10 had fever and 3 had vomiting; in 4 cases the patients had bloody diarrhea. Five patients had traveled outside the USA before they became ill. All 9 domestically acquired cases were in patients who had eaten raw oysters within 72 h of onset of illness; in a matched case-control study, illness in these patients was strongly associated with eating raw seafood (P < 0.0001). Only 1 isolate produced heat-labile toxin by a Y-1 adrenal cell [mouse adrenocortical adenoma] assay. All isolates were susceptible to tetracycline, chloramphenicol, kanamycin and cephalothin.