AUTHOR=da Silva Ligia V. , Ossai Sylvia , Chigbu Paulinus , Parveen Salina 

TITLE=Antimicrobial and Genetic Profiles of Vibrio vulnificus and Vibrio parahaemolyticus Isolated From the Maryland Coastal Bays, United States

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2021.676249

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2021.676249

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Vibrio vulnificus and V. parahaemolyticus</italic>, found naturally in marine and estuarine environments, are the leading cause of seafood associated gastrointestinal illness and death. Consumption of improperly cooked crabs and handling of live crabs are potential routes of exposure to pathogenic bacteria such as <italic>V. vulnificus</italic> and <italic>V. parahaemolyticus.</italic> Little information is available on serotype genetic and antimicrobial profiles of <italic>V. vulnificus</italic> and <italic>V. parahaemolyticus</italic> recovered from Maryland estuaries. The aim of the present study was to determine the serotype of <italic>V. parahaemolyticus</italic>, evaluate antimicrobial susceptibility and genetic profiles of <italic>V. vulnificus</italic> and <italic>V. parahaemolyticus</italic> isolated from water and blue crab (<italic>Callinectes sapidus</italic>) samples collected from the Maryland Coastal Bays. One hundred and fifty (150) PCR confirmed <italic>V. parahaemolyticus</italic> including 52 <italic>tdh</italic><sup>+</sup> (pathogenic) and 129 <italic>V. vulnificus</italic> strains were tested for susceptibility to twenty (20) different antibiotics chosen by clinical usage for <italic>Vibrio</italic> species. The O serogroups were determined using an agglutination test with <italic>V. parahaemolyticus</italic> antisera. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) was used for molecular subtyping to investigate the genetic diversity among tested strains. The most prevalent serotypes were O5 (33.3%), O3 (18.7%) and O1 (14.7%). More than 41% of all tested <italic>Vibrio</italic> isolates were resistant to three or more antibiotics. Cephalothin showed the highest resistance (42% and 61%), followed by cefoxitin (42% and 31%) and ceftazidime (36% and 29%) for <italic>V. vulnificus</italic> and <italic>V. parahaemolyticus</italic>, respectively. Most strains (99–100%) were susceptible to ampicillin/sulbactam, levofloxacin, piperacillin, piperacillin/tazobactam, and tetracycline. Fifty percent (50%) of the cephalothin resistant strains were crab isolates. <italic>Vibrio vulnificus</italic> and <italic>V. parahaemolyticus</italic> isolates demonstrated a high genetic diversity and 31% of <italic>V. vulnificus</italic> and 16% of <italic>V. parahaemolyticus</italic> strains were PFGE untypeable. No correlations were found between the <italic>V. parahaemolyticus</italic> serotype, pathogenicity, genetic and antimicrobial resistance profiles of both species of <italic>Vibrio</italic>. The observed high multiple drug resistance of <italic>V. vulnificus</italic> and <italic>V. parahaemolyticus</italic> from blue crab and its environment is of public health concern. Therefore, there is a need for frequent antibiotic sensitivity surveillance for <italic>Vibrio</italic> spp.</p>