Comparison of Vibrio cholerae O1 isolates by polymerase chain reaction fingerprinting and ribotyping.

The rRNA gene restriction patterns and the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) fingerprinting types of 53 Vibrio cholerae O1 isolates were studied. Five and eight patterns were observed from 27 toxigenic and 26 non-toxigenic O1 isolates after BglI cleavage. PCR fingerprinting with three primer sets aimed at enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC) sequences, ERIC-related sequences in V. cholerae, another kind of repeated sequences in V. cholerae (VCR) and arbitrary sequences divided the same strains into seven and 10 PCR types, respectively. Eight ribotypes had unique PCR patterns. PCR fingerprinting identified more than one pattern among isolates within each of the remaining ribotypes. However, ribotyping was able to differentiate the same PCR types in one case. A single ribotype and a single PCR pattern were found in toxigenic O1 strains isolated in Taiwan from imported food and imported cases of cholera between 1993 and 1995. Typing of V. cholerae O1 by PCR fingerprinting correlated well with ribotyping, but was more discriminating. PCR assay provides a rapid and simple means of typing these strains for epidemiological studies.