Non-O1 Vibrio cholerae unlinked to cholera in Haiti

Beginning with the observations of John Snow, many formal epidemiologic and molecular studies have corroborated the idea that cholera toxin-producing Vibrio cholerae (the agent of cholera) can move great distances via human activity. Recently “shoe leather”-based epidemiologic and whole genome-based molecular approaches have provided compelling evidence that the devastating ongoing cholera epidemic in Haiti was caused by a toxigenic strain of V. cholerae O1 that was inadvertently introduced into Haiti by United Nations (UN) security forces from Nepal, a South Asian country that suffered cholera outbreaks only weeks before the UN troops’ deployment (1⇓⇓–4). Hence, we were shocked to read the statement that “…assignment of attribution [for … [↵][1]1To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: john_mekalanos{at}hms.harvard.edu. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1