Characterization of Toxigenic Vibrio Cholerae from Haiti, 2010-2011

In October 2010, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention received reports of cases of severe watery diarrhea in Haiti. The cause was confi rmed to be toxigenic Vibrio cholerae, serogroup O1, serotype Ogawa, biotype El Tor. We characterized 122 isolates from Haiti and compared them with isolates from other countries. Antimicrobial drug susceptibility was tested by disk diffusion and broth microdilution. Analyses included identifi cation of rstR and VC2346 genes, sequencing of ctxAB and tcpA genes, and pulsed-fi eld gel electrophoresis with SfiI and NotI enzymes. All isolates were susceptible to doxycycline and azithromycin. One pulsed-fi eld gel electrophoresis pattern predominated, and ctxB sequence of all isolates matched the B-7 allele. We identifi ed the tcpET^CIRS allele, which is also present in Bangladesh strain CIRS 101. These data show that the isolates from Haiti are clonally and genetically similar to isolates originating in Africa and southern Asia and that ctxB-7 and tcpET^CIRS alleles are undergoing global dissemination.