A NOVEL KIT FOR RAPID DETECTION OF VIBRIO-CHOLERAE 01

We report on the development and testing of a novel, rapid, colorimetr ic immunodiagnostic kit, Cholera SMART, for direct detection of the pr esence of Vibrio cholerae O1 in clinical specimens. Unlike conventiona l culture methods requiring several days to complete, the Cholera SMAR T kit can be used directly in the field by untrained or minimally skil led personnel to detect V. cholerae O1 in less than 15 min, without cu mbersome laboratory equipment. A total of 120 clinical and environment al bacterial strains, including both O1 and non-O1 serotypes of V. cho lerae isolated from samples collected from a variety of geographical r egions, were tested, and positive reactions were observed only with V. cholerae O1. Also, results of a field trial in Bangladesh, employing Cholera SMART, showed 100% specificity and 96% sensitivity compared wi th conventional culture methods. Another field trial, in Mexico, showe d that Cholera SMART was 100% in agreement with a recently described c oagglutination test when 108 stool-specimens were tested.