Vibrios from fishes and their antibiotic sensitivity pattern

The people of our community eat fishes and prawns as cooked ones. But, sometimes, we eat preserved fishes (ie: after saltling, souring or dryint). There are no reports on the types of vibrios that are prevalent inthe fishes and prawns of our food. The study was conducted in Yangon between September 1993 and June 1994. The fish samples including raw and preserved ones were bought from Pazundaung market in Yangon Division. A total of 144 samples were studied. Vibrio species were isolated from 24 percent (35 of 144 samples) of all fish samples. They were isolated more from sea than river fishes and also from raw than preserved samples of all fishes. V. cholerae non-01 were isolated more than V. fluvialis from all fish samples. All of the isolates were sensitive to tetracycline, chloramphenicol, ampicillin and septrin.

Case-control study of risk factors for cholera in Yangon

A case-control study was conducted on 100 culture-confirmed cholera cases who were admitted to Yangon Infectious Diseases Hospital during 12 July to 11 October 1993 and their age-matched controls from their neighbourhood to determine the risk factors for cholera. V. cholerae 01, El Tor Ogawa, was isolated from the drinking water sample of one case-patient. A number of factors, including poultry farming, consumption of food and iced drinks from street vendors, drinking unboiled water and lack of hygenic habits were found to be significantly associated with cholera transmission.

Survival of Vibrio cholerae and Vibrio parahaemolyticus in natural waters of Yangon

Laboratory studies were conducted to examine the survival of V. cholerae and V. Parahaemolyticus in untreated and autoclaved samples of natural waters collected from different sources. Physico-chemical parameters of the natural waters were also examined as the turbidity, pH, hardness, dissolved solids, oxidizable organic matter, the chloride content, etc. The survival rates were found to very from 2 to 7 days for V. cholerae and from 30 minutes to 9 days for V. parahaemolyticus in raw natural waters. Both organisms survived for prolonged period in rever water that had been autoclaved.