Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis-Based Molecular Comparison of Vibrio cholerae O1 Isolates from Domestic and Imported Cases of Cholera in Japan

Sixty-seven Vibrio cholerae O1 El Tor isolates (36 domestic and 31 imported) were classified into 19 subtypes by NotI- and SfiI-digested pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Twenty-five of 36 domestic and 4 imported isolates were assigned to a NotI-A1–SfiI-A1 subtype, suggesting that this pulse type is widely distributed in Asia and Japan.