Vibrio cholerae is a
Gram-negative, comma-shaped
bacterium. The bacterium's natural habitat is
brackish or saltwater. Some strains of
V. cholerae cause the disease
cholera.
V. cholerae is a
facultative anaerobe and has a
flagellum at one cell pole as well as
pili.
V. cholerae can undergo respiratory and fermentative metabolism. When ingested,
V. cholerae can cause diarrhea and vomiting in a host within several hours to 2-3 days of ingestion.
V. cholerae was first isolated as the cause of
cholera by Italian anatomist
Filippo Pacini in 1854, but his discovery was not widely known until
Robert Koch, working independently 30 years later, publicized the knowledge and the means of fighting the disease.