Chironomid egg masses and Vibrio cholerae

Abstract

Cholera is a severe diarrhoeal disease triggered by a toxin produced by specific biotypes of the bacterium Vibrio cholerae that are pathogenic only to humans. There seems to be no chronic state of the disease and the natural reservoir of the pathogen is environmental1. Here we show that egg masses of the non-biting midge Chironomus sp. (Diptera) harbour V. cholerae and act as its sole carbon source, thereby providing a possible natural reservoir for the cholera bacterium.