A Natural Vaccine Candidate Strain Against Cholera

El Tor Vibrio cholerae(EVC)strains may be classified into two kinds-epidemigenic(EEVC)strains and non-epidemigenic(NEEVC)strains-based on a phage-biotyping system.A large number of EEVC strains have been screened for toxigenic and putative colonization attributes.One such naturally occurring strain(designated IEM101)has been found which is devoid of genes encoding cholera toxin(CT),accessory cholera enterotoxin(ACE),zonula occludens toxin(ZOT),but possesses RS1 sequences and toixn-coregulated pilus A gene(tcpA)although tcpA is poorly expressed.It expresses type B pili but does not posses type C pili.It is an El Tor Ogawa strain and does not cause fluid accumulation in rabbit ileal loop tests.Active immunization of rabbits with strain IEM101 elicited good protection against challenge with virulent strains of V.cholerae Ol.Oral administration cased no side effects in 15 human volunteers.colonized the gut for four to ten days and elicited good immune responses.