Assessing clonal correlation of epidemic Vibrio cholerae isolates during 2011 in 16 provinces of Iran.

A total of 1,187 Vibrio cholerae isolates were received during 2011 cholera outbreaks from 16 provinces in different geographical location to Iranian reference Health laboratory. A random selection was performed, and 61 isolates were subjected to further investigations. Cholera cases were come up from May with nine cases and reached to its maximum rate at August (57 cases) and continued to October after which a fall occurred in September. All of the isolates were susceptible to three antimicrobial agents including ciprofloxacin, cefixime, and ampicillin. The highest rate of resistance was seen to nalidixic acid (96.7 %) and co-trimoxazole (91.8 %). Clonality of isolates was investigated through genotyping by PFGE method. A total of seven pulsotypes were obtained from 61 isolates under study. The pulsotypes were highly related with only 1-3 bands differences. Three pulsotypes (PT5, PT6, and PT7) constituted 93.4 % of total isolates. One environmentally isolated strain showed distinct pattern from clinical specimens. This strain although had no any evidence in identified cholera infections, highlighted selecting more environmental specimens in any future outbreaks as long as human samples. In conclusion, emergence and dominance of Ogawa serotypes after about 7 years in Iran are alarming due to fear of import of new V. cholerae clones from out of the country. Approximately, one third of patients in 2011 cholera outbreak in Iran were of Afghan or Pakistani nationality which makes the hypothesis of import of Ogawa serotype strains from neighboring countries more documented and signifies the need to monitor and protect the boundaries.