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Background: Vibrio parahaemolyticus is one of the most common causes of seafood-borne illnesses in Korea, either directly or indirectly, by consuming infected seafood. Many studies have demonstrated the antibiotic susceptibility profile of V. parahaemolyticus. This strain has developed multiple antibiotic resistance, which has raised serious public health and economic concerns. This article reviews the food-borne outbreaks, distributions, virulence, and antibiotic resistance profiles of V. parahaemolyticus in Korea during 2003-2016. Main body: V. parahaemolyticus infections appeared to be seasonally dependent, because 69.7% of patient infections occurred in both August and September during 2003-2016. In addition, the occurrence of V. parahaemolyticus in marine environments varies seasonally but is particularly high in July, August, and September. V. parahaemolyticus isolated from aquaculture sources on the Korean coast varied in association with virulence genes, some did not possess either the tdh (thermostable direct hemolysin) or trh (tdh-related hemolysin) genes, and a few were positive for only the trh gene or both genes. The high percentage of ampicillin resistance against V. parahaemolyticus in the aquatic environment suggests that ampicillin cannot be used to effectively treat infections caused by this organism. Short conclusion: This study shows that the observed high percentage of multiple antibiotic resistance to V. parahaemolyticus is due to conventionally used antibiotics. Therefore, monitoring the antimicrobial resistance patterns at a national level and other solutions are needed to control aquaculture infections, ensure seafood safety, and avoid threats to public health caused by massive misuse of antibiotics.

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From 2009 to 2013, 80 oyster and 16 seawater samples were collected from the southern coast of Korea, including designated shellfish growing areas for export. The concentrations and bioaccumulation of heavy metals were determined, and a potential risk assessment was conducted to evaluate their hazards towards human consumption. The cadmium (Cd) concentration in oysters was the highest of three hazardous metals, including Cd, lead (Pb), and mercury (Hg), however, below the standards set by various countries. The metal bioaccumulation ratio in oysters was relatively high for zinc and Cd but low for Hg, Pb, arsenic, and chromium. The estimated dietary intakes of all heavy metals for oysters accounted for 0.02%-17.75% of provisional tolerable daily intake. The hazard index for all samples was far <1.0, which indicates that the oysters do not pose an appreciable hazard to humans for the metal pollutants of study.