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Updated: Apr 21, 2026

Laboratory Techniques Used to Maintain and Differentiate Biotypes of Vibrio cholerae Clinical and Environmental Isolates
Published on: May 30, 2017
Environmental surveillance for toxigenic Vibrio cholerae in surface waters of Haiti
Amy M Kahler1, Bradd J Haley1, Arlene Chen1
1Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia; University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland; Haitian Ministry of Public Health and Population, National Public Health Laboratory, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
Abstract:
Epidemic cholera was reported in Haiti in 2010, with no information available on the occurrence or geographic distribution of toxigenic Vibrio cholerae in Haitian waters. In a series of field visits conducted in Haiti between 2011 and 2013, water and plankton samples were collected at 19 sites. Vibrio cholerae was detected using culture, polymerase chain reaction, and direct viable count methods (DFA-DVC). Cholera toxin genes were detected by polymerase chain reaction in broth enrichments of samples collected in all visits except March 2012. Toxigenic V. cholerae was isolated from river water in 2011 and 2013. Whole genome sequencing revealed that these isolates were a match to the outbreak strain. The DFA-DVC tests were positive for V. cholerae O1 in plankton samples collected from multiple sites. Results of this survey show that toxigenic V. cholerae could be recovered from surface waters in Haiti more than 2 years after the onset of the epidemic.
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