Occurrence of Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Vibrio cholerae, and Vibrio vulnificus in the Aquacultural Environments of Taiwan

Abstract

The occurrence of Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Vibrio vulnificus, and Vibrio cholerae in a total of 72 samples from six aquaculture ponds for groupers, milk fish, and tilapia in southern Taiwan was examined by the membrane filtration and colony hybridization method. The halophilic V. parahaemolyticus was only recovered in seawater ponds, with a high isolation frequency of 86.1% and a mean density of 2.6 log CFU/g. V. cholerae was found in both the seawater and freshwater ponds but preferentially in freshwater ponds, with a frequency of 72.2% and a mean density of 1.65 log CFU/g. V. vulnificus was identified mainly in seawater ponds, with an isolation frequency of 27.8%. The density of V. parahaemolyticus in seawater ponds was positively related to water temperature (Pearson correlation coefficient, r = 0.555) and negatively related to salinity (r = 2 0.333). The density of V. cholerae in all six ponds was positively related to water temperature (r = 0.342) and negatively related to salinity (r = 2 0.432). Two putatively pathogenic tdh(+) V. parahaemolyticus isolates (1.4% of the samples) and no ctx(+) V. cholerae isolates were identified. The experimental results may facilitate assessments of the risk posed by these pathogenic Vibrio species in Taiwan, where aquaculture provides a large part of the seafood supply.

Assessment of Vibrio parahaemolyticus levels in oysters (Crassostrea virginica) and seawater in Delaware Bay in relation to environmental conditions and the prevalence of molecular markers to identify pathogenic Vibrio parahaemolyticus strains

“…Several studies have reported conflicting results regarding the correlations between the abundance of V. parahaemolyticus and salinity. Some of these studies have found a correlation between salinity and abundance of V. parahaemolyticus [65][66][67][68], while others have not [58,64,[69][70][71][72]. Thus, the insignificance of salinity on the abundance of V. parahaemolyticus identified in this study cannot be generalized.…”

Denitrifying bacteria in the limnetic zone of Lake Tota, Colombia

“…Therefore, if the population density of these microbial groups increases considerably, fish health can be threatened, affecting fish farming in the zone. Furthermore, diseases produced by Vibrio spp can be generated due to excessive feeding, high fish density, increased number of microorganisms, such as coliforms and heterotrophs, as well as the loss of water quality due to excessive nutrients [32].…”

Draft Genome Sequence of Vibrio parahaemolyticus VH3, Isolated from an Aquaculture Environment in Greece

“…Clinical characteristics include watery diarrhea, abdominal cramps, nausea, and fever ( 3 , 4 ). However, V. parahaemolyticus infections are not exclusive to humans and have recently been demonstrated to be a major source of disease in aquaculture production ( 5 , 6 ). Therefore, monitoring of this pathogenic Vibrio species in aquaculture environments is important for both the aquaculture industry and human health.…”