Vibrio Cholerae and Vibrio Paracholerae Bacteraemia Strains Encompass Lineages That Share Resistome and Virulome Profiles

Background: Non-O1 and non-O139 Vibrio cholerae (NOVC) that cause bacteraemia have attracted the attention of the public health community around the world, mainly due to the prospect of outbreaks and the way to treat such infections.

Objectives: To identify V. cholerae lineages and their antibiotic resistance and virulence factors associated with bacteraemia.

Methods: Vibrio cholerae genomes associated with strains isolated from blood were retrieved and subjected to core genome-based phylogenomic analysis with Roary. The virulome and resistome were searched with abricate using the VFDB and CARD databases.

Findings: Analysis showed that, in addition to V. cholerae, Vibrio paracholerae also causes bacteraemia. The NOVC group was highly diverse, although genomes from different countries were related. Most bacteraemic Vibrios came from countries not affected by epidemic/endemic cholera. The NOVCs virulome presented factors, such as type III and VI secretion systems, HapA, HlyA, RTX, and TLH. Importantly, no resistance to third-generation cephalosporin has been identified in the resistome of NOVCs.

Main Conclusions: The presence of multiple NOVC lineages that cause bacteraemia in different parts of the world shows that there is no geographic and socioeconomic restriction for these cases. Therefore, healthcare systems need to be aware of this uncommon but deadly Vibrio infection.