Molecular Characterization of 𝘝𝘪𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘦 Outbreak Isolates from Western India

_Vibrio cholerae_ isolates obtained from fecal samples referred from an outbreak of acute watery diarrhea in Rahude village in the Nashik district of Maharashtra, India, were characterized. The five culture-confirmed _Vibrio cholerae_ isolates were subjected to molecular and phylogenetic analysis. The PCR and sequencing results of the _ctxB_, _rstA_, _rstB_, and _tcpA_ genes confirmed that the Nashik _V_._cholerae_ strain belonged to the subtype O1 Haitian-type strain of the _ctxB_7 genotype. Moreover, the phylogenetic analysis of the _tcpA_ gene suggested that the Nashik strain is closely related to the newly discovered polymyxin B-sensitive strain. This supports the recent finding on the prevalence of the polymyxin B-sensitive strain in India. The mutation in the _tcpA_ protein was mapped to the αβ-loop region, which plays a role in pili formation as well as in the interaction of pili with the local environment.