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Cholera After the Consumption of Raw Oysters
A Case Report
- KARL C. KLONTZ, M.D., M.P.H.;
- ROBERT V. TAUXE, M.D., M.P.H.;
- WARREN L. COOK, Ph.D.;
- WILLIAM H. RILEY, Ph.D.; and
- I. KAYE WACHSMUTH, Ph.D.
Abstract
In August 1986, a 76-year-old woman in Miami, Florida, developed profuse watery diarrhea and abdominal cramps. Two and four days before the onset of her illness, she had eaten six raw oysters at each of two restaurants in Miami. A stool specimen yielded toxigenic Vibrio cholerae 01 biotype El Tor, serotype Inaba. The results of toxin gene probing of the organism recovered from the patient differed significantly from those of other V. cholerae 01 isolates from the Gulf Coast and elsewhere in the world. A program of active surveillance identified no other cases of cholera in Miami. The source of the raw oysters eaten by the patient was traced to Louisiana. Her case represents the first reported case of cholera associated with eating raw oysters.
Article and Author Information
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▸From the Division of Field Services (Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services), Epidemiology Program Office, and the Enteric Diseases Branch, Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, Georgia; the Laboratory for Microbial and Biochemical Sciences, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia; and the Miami Branch Laboratory, Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, Miami, Florida.
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▸Requests for reprints should be addressed to Karl C. Klontz, M.D., M.P.H.: Preventive Health Services, Health and Rehabilitative Services, Building 6, Room 460, 1317 Winewood Boulevard; Tallahassee, FL 32301.
