title: [Study on the application of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis regarding infection sources identification during an outbreak of Vibrio cholerae in Jiangxi Province].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study the correlation between Vibrio cholerae strains isolated from natural enviroment and fishery products and the source of infection during V. cholerae outbreaks.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cholera toxin gene was detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) was used to subtype the isolates. Results of PFGE were analyzed and clustered by BioNumerics software (Version 4.0).
  
  
  RESULTS
  During the outbreaks, a total number of thirty O139 V. cholerae related serogroups were collected from patients, carriers, sewage and fishery products were identified and proved to be toxigenic. They could be clustered into four PFGE patterns when digested by Not I. These two V. cholerae outbreaks were caused by the same source of infection because of the following reasons: (1) PFGE patterns of the predominant strains isolated from two outbreaks were identical; (2) they were identical to the PFGE patterns of the strains isolated from the green turtle and rana catesbiana which were bought from the same wholesale store.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Green turtle and rana catesbiana that were contaminated by toxigenic O139 V. cholerae strains seemed to be the source of infection causing the O139 V. cholerae outbreaks in Jiangxi province. Rapid laboratory surveillance and epidemiologic investigation were important in identifying the source of infection during the outbreaks of V. cholera.
authors.affiliation: Jiangxi Center for Disease Control and Provintion, Nanchang 330029, China.
authors.forename: Meng
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Bao-Wei
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Diao
authors.forename: Hui-Jian
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Sheng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.forename: Zhi-Gang
authors.initials: ZG
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.forename: Fu-Hui
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Xiao-Qian
authors.initials: XQ
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Biao
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kan
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yuan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D002771:Cholera / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D004197:Disease Reservoirs / Q000382:microbiology; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field / Q000379:methods*; D005398:Fisheries; D006801:Humans; D011898:Ranidae / Q000382:microbiology; D012722:Sewage / Q000382:microbiology; D014426:Turtles / Q000382:microbiology; D041242:Vibrio cholerae O139 / Q000302:isolation & purification*
chemical_list: D012722:Sewage