The Importance of Vibrio vulnificus in Seafood

Abstract

Objective: Seafoods are consumed as raw, semi-cooked or cooked in different societies. They are valuable animal protein sources. They are suitable foods for growing of microorganisms because of their high water and protein contents, close to neutral pH value. Pathogen microorganisms cause adverse effect on human body. In recently, the infections of Vibrio vulnificus have been increased rapidly in the world. V. vulnificus is an opportunistic human pathogen which is the causative agent of both food-borne disease and wound infection. V. vulnificus presents a significant risk to persons consuming raw or undercooked seafood. It may cause gastroenteritis, severe necrotizing soft-tissue infections and primary septicaemia. These infections have a mortality rate around 25%. Methods: The isolation was conducted by a conventional cultivation with the enrichment in alkaline peptone water, followed by plating onto thiosulfate-citrate-bile salts-sucrose (TCBS) agar. Overnight pre-enrichment in APW at 35-37 0 C gives the best recovery of V. vulnificus. V. vulnificus is a species of Gram negative, motile, curved, rod-shaped, pathogenic bacteria of the genus Vibrio. Results and Discussion: V. vulnificus is a natural inhabitant of seawater environments and can be recovered from sediment, water, and marine life samples, but its numbers significantly increase in the warmer months, as does the number of reported illnesses associated with this organism. So, persons at risk for this disease should be particularly cautious to avoid exposure to uncooked seafood or exposure of wounds to seawater or raw seafood during summer months.

Full text

196
Seafood Processing Technology - Oral Presentations
THE IMPORTANCE OF VIBRIO VULNIFICUS IN SEAFOOD
a a
a
fatma.ozturk@ikc.edu.tr
Objective: Seafoods are consumed as raw, semi-cooked or cooked in different
societies. They are valuable animal protein sources. They are suitable foods for growing of
microorganisms because of their high water and protein contents, close to neutral pH
value. Pathogen microorganisms cause adverse effect on human body. In recently, the
infections of Vibrio vulnificus have been increased rapidly in the world. V. vulnificus is an
opportunistic human pathogen which is the causative agent of both food-borne disease and
wound infection. V. vulnificus presents a significant risk to persons consuming raw or
undercooked seafood. It may cause gastroenteritis, severe necrotizing soft-tissue infections
and primary septicaemia. These infections have a mortality rate around 25%.
Methods: The isolation was conducted by a conventional cultivation with the
enrichment in alkaline peptone water, followed by plating onto thiosulfate-citrate-bile
salts-sucrose (TCBS) agar. Overnight pre-enrichment in APW at 35-37 0C gives the best
recovery of V. vulnificus. V. vulnificus is a species of Gram negative, motile, curved, rod-
shaped, pathogenic bacteria of the genus Vibrio.
Results and Discussion: V. vulnificus is a natural inhabitant of seawater
environments and can be recovered from sediment, water, and marine life samples, but its
numbers significantly increase in the warmer months, as does the number of reported
illnesses associated with this organism. So, persons at risk for this disease should be
particularly cautious to avoid exposure to uncooked seafood or exposure of wounds to
seawater or raw seafood during summer months.
Keywords: Vibrio vulnificus, seafood, infection