Presence of vibrios in seawater and Mytilus galloprovincialis (Lam.) from the Mar Piccolo of Taranto (Ionian Sea)

Temporal Evolution of the Microbiological Conditions of a Sicilian Area Designed for Aquaculture (Castellammare Gulf, Southern Tyrrhenian Sea)

“…Low FC and ENT counts obtained from 1993 to 2007 have shown that the Gulf of Castellammare was mostly unaffected by faecal wastes, with the exception of the station 1 where both bacterial parameters were over two orders of magnitude per 100 ml. Bacterial concentrations recorded in the Gulf of Castellammare may be used for background levels for intra-specific comparison with other Italian aquaculture sites; the abundance of FC and ENT recorded in Castellammare fall in a quantitative range similar to that reported in the Mar Piccolo (Ionian Sea), ranging from 2 to 94 MPN/ 100 ml (Cavallo and Stabili [15]). In this same last site, Zaccone et al [26] reported the occurrence of FC values exceeding the legal limits for approved mussel farming areas (log FC: 2.8 CFU/ml).…”

“…Similar findings are available in literature: Croci et al [14] found that in seawater samples from two coastal areas of the Adriatic Sea (Cesenatico and Goro), V. alginolyticus represented 31.8% of the total, while V. parahaemolyticus and V. vulnificus accounted both for a percentage of 4.7%. Also Cavallo and Stabili [15] reported that V. alginolyticus was the predominant component of the total culturable vibrios in the Mar Piccolo of Taranto (Ionian Sea, Italy). The isolation of V. cholerae serotype non-O1 confirms the wide distribution of this microorganism in marine and brackish environments, which prefers moderate temperatures (21-28°C) and low salinities (<5) [22].…”

“…Several studies [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28] highlighted that the abundance of vibrios is often unrelated to that of faecal pollution indicators; therefore a complete assessment of the hygienic-sanitary quality of coastal waters should include these microorganisms to get a complete picture of the health risks associated to diseases from contaminated seafood. Halophilic vibrios are microorganisms autochthonous of marine environments; their abundance follows a seasonal trend, increasing during summer months [27]; moreover, coastal and estuarine habitats rich in organic polymers are typical habitats for vibrios whose growth depends on the availability of organic matter [11].…”

“…The enumeration of faecal coliforms is the first criterion to be satisfied to meet both environmental protection and human health. In addition, bacterial pathogens which are recognized as responsible for the outbreaks of intestinal diseases such as Vibrios, some of which are natural inhabitants of marine environments (Vibrio cholerae, V. parahaemoluticus) [11,12] require further attention, since these bacteria may constitute a potential health hazard, even if not under the above cited legislation [13][14][15][16][17].…”

“…It is a wide bay about 70 Km long, comprised between Capo S. Vito and Terrasini, characterized by the presence of extensive mussel beds and by the outflows of alcohol distilleries which enrich waters with organic substrates; also stream inflows cause a persistent turbidity of waters, which have sporadically undergone to eutrophication. In spite of the great potentiality of the Gulf for aquaculture and fish farming, information on the microbiological conditions of the Gulf is still fragmentary; to our knowledge, only a few scientific reports are available [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22].…”