title: Prevalence and molecular characterization of Vibrio cholerae from ice and beverages sold in Jakarta, Indonesia, using most probable number and multiplex PCR.
abstract: Vibrio cholerae is well recognized as the causative agent of cholera, an acute intestinal infection characterized by watery diarrhea that may lead to dehydration and death in some cases. V. cholerae is a natural inhabitant of the aquatic environment in the tropical regions.  Jakarta has the highest percentage of individuals affected by sporadic diarrheal illness compared with other areas in Indonesia. Inadequate safety measures for drinking water supplies, improper sanitation, and poor hygiene can increase the risk of cholera outbreaks. Few studies have been conducted  on the prevalence of these bacteria in ice and beverages that are popularly sold and consumed in Jakarta. In this study, we detected and quantified V. cholerae from ice and beverages collected from several areas in five regions of Jakarta. Levels of V. cholerae in both ice and  beverages were determined with the three-tube most-probable-number (MPN) method and ranged from < 0.3 to > 110 MPN/ml. The presence of regulatory and virulence gene sequences was determined by using uniplex and multiplex PCR assays. Of 110 samples tested, 33 (30%) were positive for V. cholerae;  21 (64%) were ice samples and the remaining 12 (36%) were beverages. A total of 88 V. cholerae strains were isolated, based on the presence of the toxR gene sequence identified by PCR. Other genetic markers, such as hlyA (59%), ompU (16%), and ctxA (19%),  also were found during the search for potential pathogenic strains. The detection and isolation of potentially harmful V. cholerae from ice and beverages in Jakarta indicate that these products pose a health risk from choleragenic vibrios, particularly because of the emergence of classical  biotypes of V. cholerae O1 and potentially harmful non-O1 serovars of this species.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Biotechnology, Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia, Jalan Jenderal Sudirman 51, Jakarta 12930, Indonesia. diana.waturangi@atmajaya.ac.id
authors.forename: Diana E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Waturangi
authors.forename: Natania
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pradita
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Linarta
authors.forename: Swapan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Banerjee
mesh_terms: D001628:Beverages / Q000382:microbiology*; D002771:Cholera / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003257:Consumer Product Safety; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000517:prevention & control; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D007053:Ice; D007214:Indonesia; D060885:Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D015995:Prevalence; D014734:Vibrio cholerae / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D014871:Water Microbiology
chemical_list: D007053:Ice