The Queensland cholera incident of 1977. 1. The index case

Abstract

The first known case of cholera to be contracted in Australia during the seventh pandemic occurred in Queensland in 1977. There was no record of recent travel abroad by the patient, or of her having been in contact with persons suffering from gastroenteritis. Vibrio cholerae, biotype eltor, serotype Inaba, phage-type 2, was the causative microorganism. This case is unique in that the microbiological diagnosis was based on the identification of an isolate from venous blood. This indicates that the patient was bacteraemic, an observation not previously reported. The incident shows the importance of routine screening of faecal specimens for V. cholerae, as well as other enteropathogens.