Molecular characterization of epidemic isolates of Vibrio cholerae O1 by arbitrarily primed PCR (AP-PCR)

Background: Epidemic and endemic cholera is a major public health problem for many countries. Aim of this study was to evaluate AP-PCR for investigation of clonal relatedness among the strains of Vibrio cholerae recovered from an out­break occurred in different parts of Iran in 2005. Methods: The study was conducted during the cholera outbreak occurred in some of provinces in Iran in summer 2005. Bac­terial isolation and identification was carried out according to the standard bacteriological methods. Arbitrarily primed PCR (AP-PCR) used to study the genetic relatedness between the V.cholerae isolates. Results: Thirty-nine isolates of V.cholerae O1 were identified. All isolates belonged to serotype Inaba. AP-PCR could dif­ferentiate the isolates into five groups. AP-PCR cluster types 1 and 2 were the most prevalent groups, accounting for 36% and 41%, respectively, of V.cholerae isolates. Conclusion: The most of epidemic strains of V.cholerae O1 isolated in the year 2005 could be attributed to two pre­dominant clusters including AP-PCR cluster types 1 and 2 accounting for more than 77% of isolates. In conclusion, a few epidemic clones were responsible for the apparently epidemic occurrence of cholera in provinces studied.