Laboratory-acquired Vibrio cholerae O1 infection in Austria, 2008

Vibrio cholerae infection is a rare but well-documented cause of laboratory-associated illness. We report on the first case of indigenous cholera documented in Austria after more than fifty years. In April 2008, the National Reference Centre for V. cholerae received an isolate of V. cholerae O1, serotype Ogawa, cultured from the stool specimen of a patient consulting a general practitioner because of watery diarrhea. The 23 year old microbiology student had been working with viable V. cholerae for 4 weeks in a practical laboratory course. Two days before onset of symptoms an open 300 mL Erlenmeyer flask with approx. 30 mL of overnight V. cholerae culture tipped over and spilled into a laboratory shaker near the student's working place. Wearing gloves and protective gowns, the student and her supervisor immediately cleaned and decontaminated the shaker. As a consequence of this laboratory incident, the institution in question replaced the clamp-less shaker plate by a traditional shaker plate with mechanical clamps.