Abstract:
Bangladesh continues to be plagued with cholera, one of the deadliest infectious illnesses in the world. In many nations, the toxic Vibrio cholerae that causes cholera continues to be a serious public health issue. The main causes of this illness are poor hygiene, inadequate sanitation, and drinking tainted water. Recent cholera outbreaks demonstrated the illness's escalating intensity, duration, and severity. The current study was conducted to assess the prevalence of toxic Vibrio cholerae in fish, tank water and swab from fish cutting board in retail and wholesale market during the non-outbreak period. 45 fish samples, 16 tank water samples and 16 swabs from fish cutting board samples were obtained between May 2022 and September 2022. In order to identify V. Cholerae in the samples, bacteriological tests were performed and the results were verified for the outer membrane protein (OmpW) by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Following that, the isolates were tested for the cholera enterotoxin gene (ctx) and the toxin co-regulated pilus gene (tcpA). Fish, tank water and swab from fish cutting board contained 53%, 87% and 56% of V. Cholerae contamination, respectively. We have found that V. Cholerae was present in 16 Tilapia isolates and 8 Pangas isolates. 14 isolates from tank water and 9 from swab from fish cutting board samples tested positive for V. Cholerae. Furthermore, out of 77 isolates 5 were found positive for tcpA and 4 isolates for ctxA were detected. In conclusion, pathogenic, toxic V. Cholerae species are found in aquatic habitats, survive there, and are still isolable even when there aren't any outbreaks. This is one of the biggest obstacles to cholera control programs and a major public health concern.
