(Adnkronos) – It is not cholera. The Istituto Superior di Sanita has reassessed the case of a 71-year-old man who had tested ‘positive’ in Sardinia and was hospitalized in Cagliari. “The results of the analyzes showed that the strain of bacteria in question belongs to the species Vibrio cholerae, but not to the serogroup that causes cholera – the ISS underlined in a note. The strain found is quite common in salt water environments and usually does not cause any symptoms. Therefore, experts from the Department of Infectious Diseases have issued an official response according to which the case of cholera has not been confirmed in respect of the sample under investigation.
“A bacterial strain of Vibrio cholerae sent by Cagliari University Hospital and isolated from a stool sample of a hospitalized patient on 3 July – ISS reconstructions – Analysis by the ISS Infectious Diseases Department to confirm the diagnosis of cholera” The diagnosis of cholera should be confirmed according to the signs of the case definition established by the ECDC in 2018, ie ‘any person who is suffering from diarrhea or vomiting and from whom a strain of Vibrio cholerae has been isolated that O1 or O139 represents antigen and enterotoxin or gene encoding enterotoxin”.