Cholera and Other Vibrio Illness Surveillance System
Infections with toxigenic Vibrio cholerae O1 and O139, the serotypes of Vibrio cholerae that cause cholera, have been reportable in the United States for many years. CDC reports all confirmed cholera cases diagnosed in the United States to the World Health Organization. In January 2007, the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) recommended that infection with all Vibrio species be nationally notifiable.
The Cholera and Other Vibrio Illness Surveillance System (COVIS) was initiated by CDC, FDA, and the Gulf Coast states (Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas) in 1988. CDC has maintained a database of Vibrio infections from humans in order to obtain reliable information on illnesses associated with Vibrio species. Participating health officials collect clinical data, information about underlying illness, history of seafood consumption, and exposure to seawater during the seven days before illness, and also conduct tracebacks of implicated seafood. This information has been used to educate consumers about the health risks of seafood, as well as to help determine host, food, and environmental risk factors. By 1997, nearly all states were voluntarily reporting. Additionally, CDC serotypes all V. parahaemolyticus isolates received from state health departments and screens for cholera toxin production in all V. cholerae isolates.
Confirmed cases of Vibrio infection should be reported to CDC using the Cholera and Other Vibrio Illness Surveillance Report (PDF - 976KB).
Cholera and Other Vibrio Illness Surveillance (COVIS) Overview [PDF - 3 pages]
Annual Summaries of Vibrio Illnesses
- Summary of human Vibrio isolates reported to CDC, 2009 (PDF - 696KB)
- Summary of human Vibrio isolates reported to CDC, 2008 (PDF - 249KB)
- Summary of human Vibrio isolates reported to CDC, 2007 (PDF - 249KB)
- Summary of human Vibrio isolates reported to CDC, 2006 (PDF - 483KB)
- Summary of human Vibrio isolates reported to CDC, 2005 (PDF - 99KB)
- Summary of human Vibrio isolates reported to CDC, 2004 (PDF - 139KB)
- Summary of human Vibrio isolates reported to CDC, 2003 (PDF - 144KB)
- Summary of human Vibrio isolates reported to CDC, 2002 (PDF - 131KB)
- Summary of human Vibrio isolates reported to CDC, 2001 (PDF - 126KB)
- Summary of human Vibrio isolates reported to CDC, 2000 (PDF - 102KB)
- Summary of human Vibrio isolates reported to CDC, 1999 (PDF - 47KB)
- Summary of human Vibrio isolates reported to CDC, 1997-1998 (PDF - 42KB)
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Content source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID)
Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases (DFWED)