Passive protection of serum from volunteers inoculated with attenuated strain 638 of Vibrio cholerae O1 in animal models.

As part of the studies to obtain an oral vaccine against cholera disease, the protective effect of serum from volunteers inoculated in a controlled trial with a candidate live attenuated vaccine of Vibrio cholerae O1, El Tor Ogawa (638; CTXφ mutant, hap::celA), was tested. It was confirmed that the serum, as well as the purified IgG and IgA from the volunteers had a protective effect in both of the animal models used, although the purified antibodies needed the presence of complement to be protective. These results emphasize the expectations about the protective potential of the candidate in challenge studies in humans to be conducted very soon.