Vibrio parahaemolyticusandVibrio vulnificusin South America: water, seafood and human infections

Abstract

The bacterial species, Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Vibrio vulnificus, are ubiquitous in estuaries and coastal waters throughout the world, but they also happen to be important human pathogens. They are concentrated by filter-feeding shellfish which are often consumed raw or undercooked, providing an important potential route of entry for an infective dose of these bacteria. Vibrio parahaemolyticus can cause abdominal cramping, nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting, chills and fever. Vibrio vulnificus can cause similar gastrointestinal-related symptoms, but can also spread to the bloodstream, resulting in primary septicaemia, and it can also cause disease via wound infections. The objective of this article is to summarize, for the first time, the incidence and importance of V. parahaemolyticus and V. vulnificus in South America, in environmental waters and seafood, especifically molluscan shellfish, as well as human infection cases and outbreaks. It appears that infections from V. parahaemolyticus have been more strongly related to shellfish ingestion and have been more frequently reported on the Pacific coast of South America. Conversely, V. vulnificus has been more frequently acquired by water contact with open wounds and its presence has been more heavily reported along the Atlantic coast of South America, and while documented to cause serious mortality, have been relatively few in number. The impacts of El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) have been observed to cause an increase in V. parahaemolyticus outbreaks on the Pacific coast of South America. The implementation of a regulated monitoring approach, along with the use of faster, more accurate and virulence-specific detection approaches, such as PCR confirmation, should be considered to detect the presence of pathogenic Vibrio strains in environmental and seafood samples for protection of public health. Furthermore, improved clinical surveillance with suspected cases should be implemented. This review highlights the need for more research and monitoring of vibrios in South America, in water, shellfish and clinical samples.

Vibrio vulnificus: new insights into a deadly opportunistic pathogen

“…The demographic cohort that represents the greatest risk to V. vulnificus infections (> 45 years of age, male, underlying risk conditions such as liver disease) based on a variety of studies may be simply explained by an increase in underlying risk factors in this group. Similarly, although vibrio epidemiological data is not gathered systematically in other countries, where only fragmentary surveillance data typically exist, most reported infections that have been observed in Europe (Baker‐Austin et al ., ), China (Zhao et al ., ) and South America (Raszl et al ., ) tend to impact older males with underlying risk conditions.…”

The cytotoxic type 3 secretion system 1 of Vibrio rewires host gene expression to subvert cell death and activate cell survival pathways

“…Vibrio parahaemolyticus ( V. para ), a Gram-negative bacterium found in warm marine and estuarine environments, utilizes T3SSs for both its survival in the environment and within human hosts (4 , 5). With the effects of global warming expanding its ecological niche, V. para has become the leading cause of acute seafood-borne gastroenteritis worldwide (4, 6). In addition to causing a self-limiting gastroenteritis, V. para can infect wounds that have been exposed to contaminated seawater (7, 8),…”

El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Health: An Overview for Climate and Health Researchers

“…Although focusing strictly on cholera, Ramirez and Grady [95] found increased disease rates in Piura, Peru during El Niño events, but that the association was non-stationary, mediated by local hydrology; the association was evident in the latter part of the 1990s but with little evidence of El Niño-cholera associations in the early 1990s. Lastly, Raszl et al [96] discussed how Vibrio parahaemolyticus outbreaks related to unusually warm coastal waters along the Pacific coast of South America during El Niño events was associated with increases in diarrhea and other similar gastrointestinal-related symptoms as a result of human consumption of infected shellfish.…”