VIABLE BUT NON CULTURABLE VIBRIO-CHOLERAE-01 REVERT TO A CULTIVABLE STATE IN THE HUMAN INTESTINE

Vibrio cholerae O1 can enter a state in which they remain viable but a re non-culturable. Presumably, such bacteria can be pathogenic if they retain the capacity to proliferate in the human intestine following i ngestion. Two groups of volunteers were given inocula containing viabl e but non-culturable V. cholerae O1 of the attenuated vaccine strain C VD 101 (viable CVD 101 organisms readily colonize the human intestine) . Volunteers in one of the two groups excreted viable CVD 101, demonst rating that, in the environment of the human intestine, previously non culturable vibrios can regain the capacity to multiply. These observat ions support the proposition that viable but non-culturable bacterial enteropathogens may pose a potential threat to health.