title: Clinical and immunologic characteristics of Vibrio cholerae O139 Bengal infection in North American volunteers.
abstract: Vibrio cholerae O139 Bengal has recently emerged as a cause of epidemic cholera in Asia. To evaluate clinical and immunologic responses to infection, V. cholerae O139 Bengal AI1837 was administered to healthy adult North American volunteers. Two of 4 persons ingesting 10(4) cfu became ill (incubation period, 48 h; mean diarrheal stool, 1873 g), as did 7 of 9 persons receiving 10(6) cfu (incubation period, 28 h; mean diarrheal stool, 4548 g). Ill volunteers did not demonstrate a vibriocidal antibody response to the challenge strain or other V. cholerae. Three months later, volunteers were rechallenged with the homologous O139 Bengal strain. Only 1 of 6 persons who had been ill on initial challenge had diarrhea, compared with 11 of 13 controls (P = .01; protective efficacy = 80%). V. cholerae O139 Bengal can cause severe diarrhea typical of cholera, with clinical characteristics and a dose-response similar to those seen with V. cholerae O1 El Tor. A moderately high level of protection against subsequent disease is provided by initial clinical infection.
authors.affiliation: Center for Vaccine Development, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore.
authors.forename: J G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Morris
authors.forename: G E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Losonsky
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: C O
authors.initials: CO
authors.lastname: Tacket
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Nataro
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Panigrahi
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Levin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood; D002771:Cholera / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000382:microbiology; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D007110:Immunity, Active; D013752:Tetracycline / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014734:Vibrio cholerae / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity*
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D013752:Tetracycline