Seasonal Epidemics of Cholera Inversely Correlate with the Prevalence of Environmental Cholera Phages

The relationship among (i) the local incidence of cholera, (ii) the prevalence in the aquatic environment of Vibrio cholerae, and (iii) bacterial viruses that attack potentially virulent O1 and O139 serogroup strains of this organism (cholera phages) was studied in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Over nearly a 3...

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Published inProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 102; no. 5; pp. 1702 - 1707
Main Authors Faruque, Shah M., Naser, Iftekhar Bin, Islam, M. Johirul, Faruque, A. S. G., Ghosh, A. N., Nair, G. Balakrish, Sack, David A., Mekalanos, John J.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States National Academy of Sciences 01.02.2005
National Acad Sciences
Subjects
Aquatic environments
Bacteria
Bacteriophages
Bacteriophages - growth & development
Bacteriophages - ultrastructure
Biological Sciences
Cholera
Cholera - epidemiology
Cholera - prevention & control
Cloning
Disease transmission
Environment
Epidemics
Epidemiology
Humans
Lakes
Lysogeny
Microbiology
Population Density
Seasons
United States - epidemiology
Vibrio
Vibrio cholerae
Vibrio cholerae - virology
Viral Plaque Assay
Viruses
Water samples
United States
Bangladesh
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Summary:The relationship among (i) the local incidence of cholera, (ii) the prevalence in the aquatic environment of Vibrio cholerae, and (iii) bacterial viruses that attack potentially virulent O1 and O139 serogroup strains of this organism (cholera phages) was studied in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Over nearly a 3-year period, we found that significantly more environmental water samples contained either a phage or a phage-susceptible V. cholerae strain than both (P < 0.00001). The number of cholera patients varied seasonally during this period and frequently coincided with the presence of pathogenic V. cholerae strains in water samples that otherwise lacked detectable cholera phages. Interepidemic periods were characterized by water samples containing cholera phages but no viable bacteria. Our data support the conclusion that cholera phages can influence cholera seasonality and may also play a role in emergence of new V. cholerae pandemic serogroups or clones.
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Contributed by John J. Mekalanos, December 7, 2004
To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: jmekalanos@hms.harvard.edu.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.0408992102