Hyderabad: Forty-five strains of ‘vibrio’ cholera were isolated from 10 different places in India and their genetic modules compared to the Haitian strain, which was responsible for the outbreak of cholera in 2010 in Haiti.

The latter showed that the disease was virulent and severe. Cholera strikes in the rainy season as human and animal waste mixes with the water and finds its way into drinking water.

There are sporadic cases of cholera which are reported in the city every year. The patient requires rehydration as the body loses out completely on water. The patient can have more than 50 stools and severe diarrhea. If timely medical help is not provided, it can even be fatal.

The new strain does not lead to sporadic cases, but attacks groups of people, which is why it is stated to be virulent.

The samples were taken from sewage treatment plants in Hyderabad and 16 strains were isolated, showing that that there was a gene mutation. The new strain of vibrio cholera showed that it had minor difference from the existing strain and this difference didn’t affect the toxin production in the bacteria.

Dr Hari Kishan B. a senior general physician, explained, “The new strain is of importance to the public health system as it helps to understand the spread of the disease, its virulence and its severity. It is important to check the notified cases as the spread can then be controlled.”

The new strain CtxB 7- allele gene sequence is similar to the one which was found in Haiti in 2010, which was responsible for the outbreak of cholera in Haiti.

Hospital superintendent Dr S. Shanker said, “We are presently seeing only sporadic cases of cholera and there have not been any clusters or group cases reported in the last six years. The surveillance and testing of existing cases is regularly being done but there is no alarming situation.”

The study in the Journal of Epidemiology and Infection states that this particular strain is spreading faster and that is one of the reasons for frequent and increasing cases of cholera in different parts of the country.