Cholera Outbreak due to Raw Seafood Consumption in South Korea, 2016.

Three cases of cholera occurred in South Korea during a period of three weeks in August 2016. All the cases were associated with the consumption of raw seafood in southern coastal area of South Korea. Epidemiologic investigations were performed to track the spread of cholera, including persons in contact with the cholera patients, seafood, and seawater from the fish tank and marine environments. A microbiological investigation demonstrated that cholera isolated from the three patients and a seawater sample at the Korea Strait showed identical serotype (O1 Ogawa), biotype (El tor), and toxin (ctx-positive). Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis analysis showed that the three clinical strains are identical (100%) and shared 97% identity with the seawater sample.

Surveillance of Bacillus cereus Isolates in Korea from 2012 to 2014.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the prevalence and toxin production characteristics of non-emetic and emetic Bacillus cereus strains isolated via the laboratory surveillance system in Korea. METHODS: A total of 667 B. cereus strains were collected by the Korea National Research Institute of Health laboratory surveillance system from 2012 to 2014. The collected strains were analyzed by geographical region, season, patient age, and patient sex. Additionally, the prevalence rates of enterotoxin and emetic toxin genes were evaluated. RESULTS: The isolation rate of B. cereus strains increased during the summer, but the isolation rate was evenly distributed among patient age groups. Emetic toxin was produced by 20.2% of the isolated strains. The prevalence rates of five enterotoxin genes (entFM, nheA, cytK2, hblC, and bceT) were 85.0, 78.6, 44.5, 36.6, and 29.7%, respectively, among non-emetic strains and 77.8, 59.3, 17.8, 11.9 and 12.6%, respectively, among emetic strains. Thus, the prevalence rates of all five enterotoxin genes were lower in emetic B. cereus. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of enterotoxin genes differed between non-emetic and emetic B. cereus strains. Among emetic B. cereus strains, the prevalence rates of two enterotoxin genes (cytK2 and hblC) were lower than those among the non-emetic strains. In both the emetic and non-emetic strains isolated in Korea, nheA and entFM were the most prevalent enterotoxin genes.

Genome Sequencing Analysis of Atypical Shigella flexneri Isolated in Korea.

OBJECTIVES: An atypical Shigella flexneri strain with a plural agglutination pattern [i.e., reacting not only with serum samples containing type antigen II but also with serum samples containing group antigens (3)4 and 7(8)] was selected for genome sequencing, with the aim of obtaining additional comparative information about such strains. METHODS: The genomic DNA of atypical S. flexneri strain NCCP 15744 was sequenced using an Ion Torrent PGM sequencing machine (Life Technologies, USA). The raw sequence data were preprocessed and reference-assembled in the CLC Assembly Cell software (version 4.0.6; CLC bio, USA). RESULTS: Ion Torrent sequencing produced 1,450,025 single reads with an average length of 144 bp, totaling ~209 Mbp. The NCCP 15744 genome is composed of one chromosome and four plasmids and contains a gtrX gene. Among the published genome sequences of S. flexneri strains, including 2457T, Sf301, and 2002017, strain NCCP 15744 showed high similarity with strain 2002017. The differences between NCCP 15744 and 2002017 are as follows: i) NCCP 15744 carries four plasmids whereas 2002017 carries five; ii) 19 genes (including CI, CII, and cro) were lost in the SHI-O genomic island of NCCP 15744 and six genes were gained as compared with strain 2002017. CONCLUSION: Strain NCCP 15744 is genetically similar to 2002017, but these two strains have different multilocus sequence types and serotypes. The exact reason is unclear, but the 19 lost genes may be responsible for the atypical seroconversion of strain NCCP 15744.