Environmental Determinants of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in the Chesapeake Bay

Abstract

naturally-occurs in brackish and marine waters and is one of the leading causes of seafood-borne illness. Previous work studying the ecology of is often limited in geographic extent and lacking a full range of environmental measures. This study used a unique, large dataset of surface water samples in the Chesapeake Bay (=1,385) collected from 148 monitoring stations from 2007 to 2010. Water was analyzed for over 20 environmental parameters with additional meteorological and surrounding land use data. -specific genetic markers thermolabile hemolysin (), thermostable direct hemolysin (), and -related hemolysin () were assayed using quantitative PCR (qPCR), and interval-censored regression models with non-linear effects were estimated to account for limits of detection and quantitation. was detected in 19.6% of water samples; or markers were not detected. Results confirmed previously reported positive associations for abundance with temperature and turbidity and negative associations with high salinity (> 10-23‰). Furthermore, the salinity relationship was determined to be a function of both low temperature and turbidity, with an increase of either nullifying the high salinity effect. Associations with dissolved oxygen and phosphate also appeared stronger when samples were taken nearby human developments. Renewed focus on the ecological paradigm is warranted to protect public health. is one of the leading causes of seafood-borne illness in the United States and across the globe. Exposure is often through consuming raw or undercooked shellfish. Given the natural presence of the bacterium in the marine environment, improved understanding of its environmental determinants is necessary for future preventative measures. This analysis of environmental is one of only a few that utilize a large dataset measured over a wide geographic and temporal range. The analysis also includes a large number of environmental parameters for modeling, many of which have previously only been tested sporadically, and some of which have not been considered before. The results of the analysis revealed previously unknown relationships between salinity, turbidity, and temperature that provide significant insight into the abundance and persistence of bacterium in the environment. This information will be essential for developing environmental forecast models for the bacterium.

Characterization of Pathogenic Vibrio parahaemolyticus from the Chesapeake Bay, Maryland

“…However, when real time PCR was performed on the same samples collected by Parveen et al (2008) , detection of tdh and trh positive V. parahaemolyticus increased to 20 and 40%, respectively, for oyster samples and 13 and 40% for water samples. Conversely, in a study performed by Davis et al (2017) , water samples collected from the Chesapeake Bay between 2007 and 2010, were all negative for both trh and tdh during the course of the whole study. Ultimately, the ability to detect pathogenic V. parahaemolyticus is greatly impacted by sample processing techniques.…”

Can Multispectral Information Improve Remotely Sensed Estimates of Total Suspended Solids? A Statistical Study in Chesapeake Bay

“…The results of this study suggest that the single-band O-2012 algorithm is a valuable tool for estimating TSS via remote sensing in the Chesapeake Bay for general environmental applications. However, for applications where more accuracy or precision in waters with higher TSS concentrations may be needed, such as when modeling Vibrio bacteria [3], a statistical or machine learning model that utilizes additional MODIS bands could prove valuable. In estuarine systems, additional MODIS bands could provide information about suspended particles other than sediment that contribute to a TSS measurement, such as phytoplankton and detrital matter.…”

“…Suspended solids in a water column reduce light and other radiation availability for phytoplankton and submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) growth, while increased sedimentation rates reduce benthic organism habitability. It has also been shown that the volume of suspended particles in water may have biological importance for predicting incidence and abundance of pathogenic bacteria like Vibrio parahaemolyticus [1][2][3]. Forms of suspended particles that contribute to TSS concentrations include sediment, detrital matter, and microorganisms.…”

Managing the risk of Vibrio parahaemolyticus infections associated with oyster consumption: A review

“…An advancement over conventional PCR, known as real‐time PCR, allows the detection of V. parahaemolyticus in samples in real time (Davis et al., 2017; Paranjpye et al., 2015). This method is also often referred to as quantitative PCR (qPCR).…”

“…This method allows fast, accurate, and consistent detection of specific genes simultaneously in large numbers of samples. Real‐time PCR does not require post‐PCR steps, and results are expressed as a number of genome equivalents or copies per unit volume or weight samples (Davis et al., 2017; Paranjpye et al., 2015). Several studies have successfully used multiplex real‐time PCR using primers that target multiple species‐specific genes for detecting and enumerating total and pathogenic V. parahaemolyticus in oyster samples, including Kim, Lee, Kim, Kwon, and Kwon (2008), Nordstrom, Vickery, Blackstone, Murray, and DePaola (2007), Panicker, Call, Krug, and Bej (2004), Xu, Ji, Wu, Yan, and Chen (2018), and Blackstone et al.…”