Outbreak of cholera in arid zone of Bikaner

Bikaner being an arid zone was more or less unaffected by cholera until 1994 when an outbreak of clinical cholera occurred. We isolated 64 Vibrio cholerae strains out of 475 stool samples received (isolation rate 13.47%). All the Vibrio strains belonged to biotype El Tor serotype Ogawa. Low isolation rate was probably related to the poor transportation and medical facilities available at remote areas and indiscriminate and irrational use of antibiotics. The antimicrobial susceptibility testing of the isolates has not shown significant resistance against commonly used antimicrobials.