Vibrio- Campylobacter -Helicobacter pylori

Vibrio ( Vibrionaceae ):
Members of the genus Vibrio are short, curved, rod-shaped organisms (Figure-1-)Vibrio shares many cultural and physiological characteristics with members of the Enterobacteriaceae, a closely related family.They are rapidly motile by means of a single polar flagellum. Vibrios are facultative anaerobes. The growth of many Vibrio strains either requires or is stimulated by NaCl. Pathogenic vibrios include:

1) V. cholera serogroup O1 strains that are associated with epidemic cholera.

2) Non-O1 V. cholerae and related strains that cause sporadic cases of cholera like and other illnesses.

3) V. parahaemolyticus and other halophilic vibrios, which cause gastroenteritis and extraintestinal infections.

V.cholerae is transmitted by contaminated water and food. There are no known animal reservoirs.

The most prominent species of pathogenic vibrios is Vibrio cholerae,* the cause of cholera. A freshly isolated specimen reveals quick, darting cells slightly resembling a wiener or a comma. Like Enterobacteriaceae, they are fermentative and grow on ordinary or selective media containing bile at 37? C. They possess unique O (somatic) antigens, H (flagella) antigens, and membrane receptor antigens that provide some basis for classifying members of the family.