Analysis of some factors involved in the virulence mechanism of Vibrio cholerae non-01

Abstract A study was carried out to evaluate the potential intestinal toxicity of 188 samples of Vibrio cholerae non-01 isolated from seawater found along the beaches of Rio de Janeiro city. Three different assays were carried out involving: (a) detection of vascular permeability factor (PF) in guinea pigs (together with assessment of two culture media for production of the toxin); (b) intestinal fluid accumulation (FA) in suckling mice; and (c) detection of haemolysin. The results demonstrated that both culture media gave a similar level of performance. In the animal assays, 43% of the samples induced PF in guinea pigs, 28.7% caused intestinal fluid accumulation in suckling mice, and 63.28% contained haemolysin. Only 4.25% of the samples gave positive results in all three tests.