Vibrio Species in the Food Processing Chain

The genus Vibrio, belonging to the family Vibrionaceae, is constituted by Gram-negative, comma-shaped, facultative anaerobic, motile, halophilic bacteria species having polar flagella with sheaths. In the last years they have acquired an increased significance because of their association with mild-to-severe human diseases, such as intestinal inflammation, wound infections, diarrhoea, and septicaemia. Since 1854, V. cholerae (O1/O139) remains as the firstly identified causative agent of cholera. More recently identified human pathogens, V. parahaemolyticus and V. vulnificus, are now the predominant etiologies of human infections in developed countries. While there are over 100 individual species in the genus Vibrio, only about a dozen have been associated with human illness. However, novel Vibrio species (V. alginolyticus, V. fluviales, V. furnissii, V. mimicus, V. metschnikovii, V. cincinnatiensis or V. carchariae) are increasingly present in the environment being the subject of case reports and their significance as human pathogens remains to be unknown.

Epidemiological data suggest that Vibrio infections are foodborne and associated with consumption of raw or undercooked shellfish. However, their presence in other commodities, such as fermented foods, raw vegetables or ready-to-eat foods, has been recently reported. This way, there are some recent studies demonstrating the higher incidence of Vibrio species when food elaboration processes and hygienic conditions at industrial level are inefficient, but the involved factors influencing their transmission in the food chain is still a matter of discussion. Moreover, mechanisms for biofilm formation, virulence factors, influence of environmental variables, and antimicrobial resistance of Vibrio in the food chain is currently a research hot topic for scientists.

Therefore, this special issue is seeking original, unpublished research and/or review contributions and opinions related to the role of Vibrio species and their transmission in the food chain. Potential topics for submission of papers include, but are not limited, to the following: 

 Pathogenicity mechanisms and virulence factors associated to foodborne Vibrio species
 Environmental persistence of Vibrio in water ecosystems and foods
 Vibrio and climate change
 Biofilm formation of Vibrio species in food processing chains
 Impact of exposure pathways on the transmission of Vibrio in the food processing chains
 Processing technologies and mitigation strategies to reduce the incidence of Vibrio in foods
 Monitoring studies on antimicrobial resistance and susceptibility patterns of Vibrio species
 Emerging analytical methods for tracing and detecting pathogenic Vibrio in foods
 Presence and identification of Vibrio species in the food environment
 Risk assessment and predictive modelling of Vibrio for food quality and safety