Sobrevivencia de Vibrio cholerae en cebolla

In the research work described in this article, twenty, samples of onion were inoculated with a strain of non toxigenic Vibrio cholerae 0:1, in the following concentrations: 100 000, 10 000 y 1 000 UFC/ml. The samples were incubated at 4 °C, 21 °C and 37 °C. The results showed highly significative differences between the survival time at the three temperatures. It was obtained a mean isolation time of 13.12 days at 21 °C, 5.3 days at 37 °C, and 2.2 days at 4 °C. The maximum viability time (8 days) was obtained with the 100,000 UFC/ml inoculation. The samples inoculated with the two lower concentrations did not show significative differences between them (six and five days of viability, respectively). The survival of Vibrio cholerae in onion depend on temperature and cells amount. The research contributes to the knowledge on the transmission of cholera through vegetables, of greater importance in those countries where sewage water is used for irrigation.