Vibrio cholerae non-O1 and non-O139 serogroup isolated from ornamental fish in India

Abstract

Vibriosis is a well-described devastating fish disease, which occurs in both marine and freshwater environments. The causative agents include Vibrio anguillarum, Vibrio cholerae non-O1, Vibrio damsela, Vibrio vulnificus and others. (Austin and Austin, 1986). V cholerae serogroups not associated with epidemic and pandemics are collectively referred as non O1 and non O139 V cholerae. In addition to causing disease in humans, V cholerae non-O1 has been isolated from fish and a variety of non-aquatic animals (Kiiyukia et al., 1992). A few strains of V cholerae non-O1 have been isolated from seafoods in India (Mathew et al., 1986.). From a diagnostic point of view, toxigenic and non-toxigenic strains of V. cholerae can be differentiated by the presence, of the cholera toxin and toxin - co regulated pilus gene (Singh et al., 2002). Unlike other Vibrio species, V cholerae non-O1 has rarely been isolated from fish. The present two year study was intended to examine the diversity of the bacterial flora associated with the important trophical ornamental fish in India, wherein Vibrio sp were isolated and characterized.