Microbiological surveillance of intra-neighbourhood E1 Tor cholera transmission in rural Bangladesh

Abstract

The apparent failure of handpump tubewells to reduce the incidence of cholera among users in the flooded rural area of Bangladesh has stimulated interest in defining precisely the means of Vibrio cholerae transmission during localized outbreaks. Cholera-infected neighbourhoods were placed under intensive microbiological surveillance to pinpoint contaminated sources and subsequent infections. The results show that cholera transmission was via contaminated surface water, particularly water taken into households for cooking or drinking. Infections resulted from a daily dose not exceeding 10(5) organisms and the frequency of exposure appeared to be a major determinant of the infection rate. The importance of these data in environmental interventions and particularly in the provision of tubewells is discussed.