[Risk of transmission of cholera by fish products: regional perspective in South America]

Cholera returned to South America in January 1991, after almost a century of absence. The hygienic status of the countries affected, aggravated by economic and political difficulties, allowed the disease to spread rapidly. In Peru, fishery products were incriminated from the outset, although without conclusive evidence. However, epidemiological and laboratory findings in other countries have confirmed the transmission of the disease by these products. The authors discuss the effects of the recent cholera epidemic on the trade and consumption of fishery products in countries of South America. The actual risk of cholera transmission by food and in particular by the consumption of fishery products is discussed, and a basis for conducting an accurate evaluation of these risks is proposed. Finally, the authors summarise the measures recommended to prevent the transmission of cholera by fishery products.