© 1984 Oxford University Press
research-article |
Transmission of Non O Group 1 Vibrio cholerae by Raw Oyster Consumption



*Laboratorio di Epidemiologia e Biostatistica, Istituto Superiore di Sanità Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
**Laboratorio di Malattie Baiteriche e Virali, Istituto Superiore di Sanità Rome, Italy
Preventive Medicine Activity Caserma Ederle, US Army, Vicenza, Italy
Direzione di Igiene e Sanità Pubblica Unità Sanitaria Locale 18, Dolo, Venice, Italy
§Centra per gli Enterobatteri Patogeni Regione Veneto, Treviso, Italy
After having eaten dinner many customers of a restaurant in Dolo (Venice) developed gastroenteritis with diarrhoea and vomiting. Strains of non 0 group 1 Vibrio cholerae were isolated from rectal swabs of four customers. Epidemiological investigations revealed an association between the illness and raw oyster consumption (p = 0.008). Also, an association was found between age and illness among males (p = 0.034).
As a consequence of this outbreak, a gastroenteritis surveillance programme was run for three months by health authorities in the Regione Veneto. The results indicate that, although non 0-1 V. cholerae does not account for severe pathology, it causes mild gastroenteritis and asymptomatic infections in developed countries.
Received 1 May 1983