Studies on Vibrio parahaemolyticus Infection in Calcutta as Compared to Cholera Infection

Abstract

Vibrio parahaemolyticus, an enteropathogenic, halophilic organism, has been isolated from coastal sea-waters of Japan by Horie et al. [1], United States by Baross and Liston [2], Philippines, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore by Sakazaki [3]. Recently Bockemuhl et al. [4] also isolated this organism from lagoon waters in Togo (West Africa). Outbreaks of gastro-enteritis have been reported from Japan [5], USA in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report [6], and Australia by Battey et al. [7], caused by V. parahaemolyticus: These outbreaks were mostly related to consumption of sea-fish and fish products. Recently V. parahaemolyticus has been isolated from acute gastro-enteritis cases in Calcutta by Chatterjee et al. [8] and Neogy et al. [9]. Subsequently, Sakazaki et al. [10] observed in Calcutta that 192 persons (5.6%) out of 3,433 hospitalized diarrhea cases during 1969—70, were positive for V. parahaemolyticus only. The demographic characters of Calculate and local custom are quite different from those in other countries mentioned earlier. Calcutta is well-known for its high endemicity for cholera. Cholera carrier studies conducted earlier in Calcutta, by Joint ICMR-GWB-WHO Cholera Study Group [11], showed that the incidence of carriers in the households of known cholera patients was about 20%. The present study is an attempt, mostly in similar lines, to compare between the different aspect of infection of V. parahaemolyticus and V. cholera in Calcutta community.