ABSTRACT
In 1993, after 6 years of absence, cholera re-emerged in the Horn of Africa. Following its introduction to Djibouti, the disease spread to the central and southern areas of Ethiopia reaching Somalia in 1994. Cholera outbreaks persisted in Ethiopia with a recrudescence of cases in 1998. Twenty-two Vibrio cholerae O1 strains, selected to represent the 1998 history of cholera in Ethiopia, were characterized by random amplified polymorphic DNA patterns, BglI ribotyping and antimicrobial susceptibility. All isolates showed a unique amplified DNA pattern and a prevalent ribotype B8a. All strains were multidrug-resistant and harboured an IncC plasmid which conferred resistance to ampicillin, chloramphenicol, streptomycin, sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim. These findings indicate that a group of closely related V. cholerae O1 strains was responsible for the cholera epidemic in Ethiopia in 1998.
Subject(s)
Cholera/epidemiology , Cholera/history , Disease Outbreaks , Vibrio cholerae O1/isolation & purification , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology , Child , Child, Preschool , DNA Fingerprinting , Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial , Ethiopia/epidemiology , Female , History, 20th Century , Humans , Infant , Male , Microbial Sensitivity Tests , Middle Aged , Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA Technique , Ribotyping , Vibrio cholerae O1/classification , Vibrio cholerae O1/drug effects , Vibrio cholerae O1/genetics , Young AdultABSTRACT
One hundred and three Vibrio cholerae O1 strains, selected to represent the cholera outbreaks which occurred in Somalia in 1998-1999, were characterized by random amplified polymorphic DNA patterns, ribotyping, and antimicrobial susceptibility. All strains showed a unique amplified DNA pattern and 2 closely related ribotypes (B5a and B8a), among which B5a was the more frequently identified. Ninety-one strains were resistant to ampicillin, chloramphenicol, spectinomycin, streptomycin, sulfamethoxazole, and trimethoprim, conferred, except for spectinomycin, by a conjugative plasmid IncC. These findings indicated that the group of strains active in Somalia in the late 1990s had a clonal origin.
