Epidemiologic and Drug Resistance Pattern of Vibrio cholerae O1 Biotype El Tor, Serotype Ogawa, in the 2011 Cholera Outbreak, in Alborz Province, Iran

BACKGROUND: Although the national guidelines recommend special antibiotics, based on the antibiogram of National Reference Laboratory, it seems that, because of uncontrolled usage of antibiotics in the society and due to the changes in the serotypes causing the disease, it is essential to monitor the status of drug resistance, permanently, and to revise the current prescriptions guidelines. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to assess the epidemiological aspects and drug resistance pattern of Vibrio cholerae O1, biotype El Tor, serotype Ogawa, in cholera outbreak, in Alborz province in Iran, during 2011. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study, which reviews a cholera epidemic that occurred in Iran. A total of 9844 specimens were taken from suspected cases, among diarrheal patients, via rectal swabs. The specimens were placed in Cary-Blair transport medium and sent to laboratory. Samples were enriched, in alkaline peptone water, and isolated on thiosulphate-citrate-bile salt-sucrose agar. From the 244 confirmed cases, 239 cases underwent antibiogram test, via disk diffusion method and based on national committee for clinical laboratory standards (NCCLS) instructions. The standard Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 was used for antibiogram quality control and, eventually, all results were interpreted and reported using NCCLS standard table. RESULTS: In total, until October 22, 2011, which was announced as the end of outbreak, 9844 samples were taken from diarrheal patients. Regarding the type of V. cholerae, 244 El Tor biotype positive cases were reported. The case fatality rate was 1.3%. The mean age of patients was 37.8 years and the highest incidence rate occurred in the age group 21 - 30 years. After conducting antibiotic susceptibility test in the 244 V. cholerae, biotype El Tor, serotype Ogawa, it was found that ciprofloxacin had the highest level of antibiotic susceptibility (99.6%) and the highest level of antibiotic resistance was observed in co-trimoxazole (95.4%). CONCLUSIONS: The results of our study show that the resistances to doxycycline and tetracycline, which are mentioned in multiple resources, as the most common antibiotic drugs for treating cholera, are increasing.