| Vibrio cholerae is well recognized as the causative agent of cholera, an acute intestinal infection characterized by voluminous stools which lead to massive dehydration and even to death. V. cholerae is natural inhabitant of the aquatic environment, inadequate drinking water supplies, poor sanitation, and hygiene can increase the risk of cholera outbreaks. With low-sanitary level and lack of hygiene and health awareness, people in Indonesia continuously face the threat of cholera outbreak. Unfortunately, study to enumerate and detection of V. cholerae from ice in Jakarta are still rare. The prevalence of V. cholerae from ice cube samples collected from ice factories and stores around Jakarta was carried out by using three-tube MPN method. We also screened the V. cholerae isolate for the presence of regulatory and virulence genes important for its pathocenicity and toxigenicity potential. Using multiplex PCR, from this study we found that 21 of 60 ice cube samples were contaminated by pahogenic and toxigenic V. cholerae. The V. cholerae isolates that we found contain toxR gene along with one or more virulence genes such as hlyA, ctxA, ompU, and zot. These genes of V. cholerae may be required for survival in the environment and are not solely related to pathogenesis. |