Virulence factors in environmental and clinical Vibrio cholerae from endemic areas in Kenya
African Journal of Laboratory Medicine
| Field | Value | |
| Title | Virulence factors in environmental and clinical Vibrio cholerae from endemic areas in Kenya | |
| Creator | Kimani, Racheal W. Muigai, Anne W. T. Sang, Willie Kiiru, John N. Kariuki, Samuel | |
| Description | Background: Since 1971, Kenya has had repeated cholera outbreaks. However, the cause of seasonal epidemics of cholera is not fully understood and neither are the factors that drive epidemics, both in Kenya and globally.Objectives: The objectives of the study were to determine the environmental reservoirs of V. cholerae during an interepidemic period in Kenya and to characterise their virulence factors.Methods: One hundred (50 clinical, 50 environmental) samples were tested for V. cholerae isolates using both simplex and multiplex polymerase chain reaction.Results: Both sediments and algae from fishing and landing bays yielded isolates of V. cholerae. Clinical strains were characterised along with the environmental strains for comparison. All clinical strains harboured ctxA, tcpA (El Tor), ompU, zot, ace, toxR, hylA (El Tor) and tcpI genes. Prevalence for virulence genes in environmental strains was hylA (El Tor) (10%), toxR (24%), zot (22%), ctxA (12%),tcpI (8%), hylA (26%) and tcpA (12%).Conclusion: The study sites, including landing bays and beaches, contained environmental V. cholerae, suggesting that these may be reservoirs for frequent epidemics. Improved hygiene and fish-handling techniques will be important in reducing the persistence of reservoirs. | |
| Publisher | AOSIS | |
| Date | 2014-10-17 | |
| Identifier | 10.4102/ajlm.v3i1.41 | |
| Source | African Journal of Laboratory Medicine; Vol 3, No 1 (2014); 7 pages 2225-2010 2225-2002 | |
| Language | eng | |
| Relation |
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:
https://ajlmonline.org/index.php/ajlm/article/view/41/223
https://ajlmonline.org/index.php/ajlm/article/view/41/224
https://ajlmonline.org/index.php/ajlm/article/view/41/225
https://ajlmonline.org/index.php/ajlm/article/view/41/203
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