Outbreak of Diarrhea due to Vibrio Parahaemolyticus Among Military Personnel inLima, Peru

摘要

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a halophilic (salt-requiring) vibrio that has beenimplicated as the cause of sporadic cases of diarrhea as well as outbreaks of diarrhea; such cases or outbreaks are usually associated with the ingestion of inadequately cooked seafood or seawater-contaminated food as has been reported during outbreak on ships 1. Only sporadic cases of infection due to V. parahoemolyticus have been described in Peru despite the isolation of this organism from fish, mussels, and seawater along the Pacific Coast 2 and the common consumption of seafood in this area 3. We report herein an outbreak of diarrhea associated with V parahaemolyticus among military personnel in Peru. As part of a study to evaluate the efficacy of an oral killed whole cell plus recombinant B subunit Vibrio cholerae vaccine in military personnel, a diarrhea surveillance system was implemented at a Peruvian training base for naval recruits that was located 30 km north of Lima. In the second week of February 1994, an increase in the number of cases of diarrhea among the recruits was noted. We then initiated an investigation of the outbreak to determine the etiology, attack rates, and source of the pathogen.