Prevalence and population analysis of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in retail aquatic products from the southern Fujian coast, China

Abstract

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is one of the most hazardous pathogens causing seafood-borne diseases in the southern Fujian coast, China. From June to October 2016, a total of 250 samples were collected from retail markets in the Xiamen, Quanzhou, and Zhangzhou regions. Seventy-seven V. parahaemolyticus isolates were identified using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Then, molecular typing was performed using repetitive extragenic palindromic-PCR (REP-PCR). The distribution of seven virulence genes was detected by PCR. In aquatic products, the prevalence of V. parahaemolyticus was 30.8%, and the prevalence of tdh + and trh + was 2.6 and 1.3%, respectively. The prevalence of type III secretion system-2 (T3SS2) and the ureC gene was 5.2 and 3.9%, respectively. All 77 strains and the reference strain V. parahaemolyticus ATCC 17802 were classified into seven molecular types using REP-PCR. Thus, our findings demonstrated that the prevalence of V. parahaemolyticus was severe in the southern Fujian coast and that the regulations for aquatic food safety should be strengthened. 1 | INTRODUCTION Vibrio parahaemolyticus (V. parahaemolyticus) is a Gram-negative, halophilic, rod-shaped bacterium that is commonly found in aquatic products in China, Japan, Korea, and other countries with long coastlines. The germ load of V. parahaemolyticus in the environment is inclined to follow clear seasonal trends, with food-borne diseases peaking in the summer months (Chen et al., 2017; Paranjpye et al., 2015). The consumption of contaminated aquatic products in the aquaculture sector is very high, which gives rise to the high prevalence of gastroenteritis infections caused by V. parahaemolyticus during summer and autumn. This food-borne pathogen can infect people through the consumption of raw or undercooked aquatic animals, especially fish, mollusks, crustaceans, etc. (Xie, Wu, Zhang, Xu, & Cheng, 2016). Patients infected with V. parahaemolyticus are most likely to experience diarrhea, abdominal cramps, vomiting and fever, septicemia, or even death (Lopatek, Wieczorek, & Osek, 2015). The number of food poisoning cases caused by V. parahaemolyticus has exceeded that caused by Salmonella, ranking first in food-borne pathogens in China (Broberg, Calder, & Orth, 2011). In recent years, several reports concerning the prevalence of V. parahaemolyticus in seafood or environmental samples have been delivered in many coastal areas in China. In seafood samples, the prevalence of V. parahaemolyticus was reported to be 10% in Zhejiang Province (Chen et al., 2017),

Incidence, Antibiotic Susceptibility and Characterization of Vibrio parahaemolyticus Isolated from Seafood in Selangor, Malaysia

“…parahaemolyticus was reported as 20.0% and 14.0% in short-necked clams (Paphia variegata) and white shrimps (Penaeus vannamei) from China, which is lower than our findings [111] . In contrast, oysters (Crassostrea gigas) sampled in Kang et al [113] showed a higher prevalence (85.5%) of the bacteria in their study.…”

“…There is a considerable amount of literature concerning V. parahaemolyticus in seafood from Asia. Despite the subtle variation in the methodologies employed, ultimately, most studies have consistently used the toxR-or tlh-PCR amplification technique, which allows accurate comparisons of findings to be made [90,[109][110][111][112][113] . The overall prevalence of V.…”

“…Contrastingly, none of the isolates was positive for tdh [118] . Hu et al [111] demonstrated that the 2.6% (2/77) and 1.3% (1/77) of V. parahaemolyticus isolated from shellfish samples from China were positive for tdh and trh gene, respectively. Despite the low prevalence of pathogenic strains of the bacteria reported in most studies, a minority of the studies conducted have illustrated a higher incidence of pathogenic V. parahaemolyticus strains in seafood.…”

Rapid and Visual Detection of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in Aquatic Foods Using blaCARB-17 Gene-Based Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification with Lateral Flow Dipstick (LAMP-LFD)

“…Shellfish products were utilized to evaluate the reliability of the LAMP-LFD assays in natural food samples: 30 aquatic products (short-necked clam, n = 10; Asiatic hard clam, n = 10; razor clam, n = 10) were collected from 3 local retail markets in Zhangzhou, China. V. parahaemolyticus isolates were detected from natural food samples following the method described by Yuanqing [ 28 ]. Briefly, 25 g of each sample was homogenized with 225 ml alkaline peptone water (APW, Land Bridge Technology, China) containing 3% (w/v) NaCl, and homogenates were streaked onto TCBS agar plates and incubated at 37°C for 18-24 h. Green or blue green colonies were spread onto new TCBS plates for purification at 37°C for 18 h, and presumptive colonies were chosen for identification by Gram staining and biochemical tests (oxidase activity; halophilic test; urease test; citrate utilization test; decomposition test of sucrose, glucose and mannitol; 3% (w/v) NaCl triple sugar iron tests).…”