Vibrio parahaemolyticus in Brazilian coastal waters

Vibrio parahaemolyticus has been increasingly recognized as an important cause of acute diarrheal illness in Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia, and North America. We investigated whether this pathogen was also present in Brazil and found that 10% of the fish samples studied were contaminated with this halophilic vibrio. Positive cultures were obtained in three of 64 fish (5%) and in seven of 36 shell fish (19%).