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Development of a More Sensitive and Specific Chromogenic Agar Medium for the Detection of Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Other Vibrio Species
09:34

Development of a More Sensitive and Specific Chromogenic Agar Medium for the Detection of Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Other Vibrio Species

Published on: November 8, 2016

Nontoxigenic Vibrio parahaemolyticus strains causing acute gastroenteritis

Donatella Ottaviani1, Francesca Leoni, Roberto Serra

  • 1Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Umbria e delle Marche, Laboratorio Nazionale di Riferimento Contaminazioni Batteriologiche dei Molluschi Bivalvi, Ancona, Italy. d.ottaviani@izsum.it

Journal of Clinical Microbiology
|October 12, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Nontoxigenic Vibrio parahaemolyticus strains caused acute gastroenteritis in Italy. These bacteria were cytotoxic and adhesive, indicating potential pathogenicity beyond known toxins.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Foodborne Pathogens
  • Gastroenterology

Background:

  • Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a significant cause of seafood-borne bacterial gastroenteritis worldwide.
  • Mussel consumption is a known risk factor for Vibrio parahaemolyticus infections.
  • Virulence factors like tdh, trh, and T3SS2 are typically associated with pathogenic strains.

Observation:

  • Four Vibrio parahaemolyticus strains isolated from Italian mussels causing gastroenteritis were studied.
  • These strains exhibited cytotoxic and adhesive properties in vitro.
  • Surprisingly, the investigated strains lacked the commonly identified virulence genes: tdh, trh, and type three secretion system 2 (T3SS2).

Findings:

  • The isolated nontoxigenic Vibrio parahaemolyticus strains demonstrated virulence through cytotoxicity and adhesion.
  • The absence of specific, well-characterized virulence genes challenges existing understanding of Vibrio parahaemolyticus pathogenicity.
  • These findings indicate that other virulence mechanisms may contribute to Vibrio parahaemolyticus-induced gastroenteritis.

Implications:

  • Nontoxigenic Vibrio parahaemolyticus strains can be pathogenic, causing acute gastroenteritis.
  • Current diagnostic and surveillance methods focusing on specific toxin genes may underestimate the prevalence of Vibrio parahaemolyticus infections.
  • Further research is crucial to elucidate the complete spectrum of virulence factors and pathogenicity mechanisms of Vibrio parahaemolyticus.

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