AUTHOR=Song Xinjie , Zang Jinlin , Yu Weisen , Shi Xuexiang , Wu Yongning 

TITLE=Occurrence and Identification of Pathogenic Vibrio Contaminants in Common Seafood Available in a Chinese Traditional Market in Qingdao, Shandong Province

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2020.01488

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2020.01488

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>The investigation of the causative agents for foodborne diseases and subsequent development of preventive steps to control the outbreak and related economic loss is the basic goal and priority of a rational food safety program. The entero-pathogenic <italic>Vibrio</italic> spp., which are Gram negative bacteria inhabiting estuarine ecosystems, are the major cause of foodborne illness associated with the consumption of raw or undercooked contaminated seafood or shellfish. To survey the <italic>Vibrio</italic> contamination in sea snails (<italic>Neptunea cumingi Crosse</italic> and <italic>Busycon canaliculatu</italic>), a total of 20 samples were collected from traditional market, at Qingdao city in Shandong province, China and analyzed for <italic>Vibrio</italic> species contamination. Presumptive-positive colonies grown on a specific <italic>Vibrio</italic> agar-based medium were picked and identified by the VITEK<sup>TM</sup>. <italic>Vibrio alginolyticus</italic>, <italic>V. parahaemolyticus</italic>, and <italic>V. vulgaris</italic> were isolated and identified in 11, 8, and 2 seafood samples, respectively. Among the 8 isolates of <italic>V. parahaemolyticus</italic>. The <italic>V. parahaemolyticus</italic> isolates were further tested for the <italic>tdh</italic>, <italic>trh</italic>, and <italic>tlh</italic> virulence factors. All the <italic>V. parahaemolyticus</italic> isolates were <italic>tlh</italic>-positive, however, all of them were <italic>tdh</italic>-negative. Interestingly 2 <italic>V. parahaemolyticus</italic> isolates were positive for <italic>trh</italic> virulence factor. These results indicated that there is a high incidence of <italic>V. alginolyticus</italic> and <italic>V. parahaemolyticus</italic> in sea snails. Therefore, food safety regulations for fishery auction markets should be established to control these species in addition to other <italic>Vibrio</italic> pathogenic contaminants. Our study provides the first evidence for the prevalence of <italic>Vibrio</italic> spp. in sea snail samples from traditional market in the Qingdao province of China.</p>