Vibrio vulnificus as a health hazard for shrimp consumers

Authors

  • Susy Margella Melo do NASCIMENTO Universidade Federal do Ceará; Instituto de Ciências do Mar
  • Regine Helena Silva dos Fernandes VIEIRA Universidade Federal do Ceará; Instituto de Ciências do Mar
  • Grace Nazareth Diogo THEOPHILO Fundação Oswaldo Cruz; Departamento de Bacteriologia
  • Dália dos Prazeres RODRIGUES Fundação Oswaldo Cruz; Departamento de Bacteriologia
  • Gustavo Hitzschky Fernandes VIEIRA Universidade do Vale do Acaraú

Keywords:

Marine bacterium, Vibrio vulnificus, Shrimp, Antimicrobial susceptibility tests

Abstract

Over the last 30 years, a number of Vibrio species found in the aquatic environment have been indicated as cause of disease in human beings. Vibrio vulnificus is an emergent pathogen, an invasive and lethal marine bacterium related to wound infection and held accountable for gastroenteritis and primary septicemia. It occurs quite frequently in marine organisms, mainly in mollusks. This study aimed at isolating and identifying strains of V. vulnificus based upon the analysis of twenty samples of seabob shrimp, Xiphopenaeus kroyeri (Heller), purchased at the Mucuripe fish market (Fortaleza, Brazil). TCBS agar was used to isolate suspect strains. Seven of twenty-nine strains isolated from six different samples were confirmed as such by means of biochemical evidence and thus submitted to biological assays to determine their virulence. The susceptibility of the V. vulnificus strains to a number of antibiotics was tested. None of the V. vulnificus strains showed signs of virulence during a 24-hour observation period, possibly due to the shedding of the capsules by the cells. As to the results of the antimicrobial susceptibility tests, the seven above-mentioned V. vulnificus strains were found to be sensitive to nitrofurantoin (NT), ciprofloxacin (CIP), gentamicin (GN) and chloramphenicol (CO) and resistant to clindamycin (CI), penicillin (PN) and ampicillin (AP).

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Published

2001-10-01

Issue

Section

Microbiology

How to Cite

NASCIMENTO, S. M. M. do, VIEIRA, R. H. S. dos F., THEOPHILO, G. N. D., RODRIGUES, D. dos P., & VIEIRA, G. H. F. (2001). Vibrio vulnificus as a health hazard for shrimp consumers . Revista Do Instituto De Medicina Tropical De São Paulo, 43(5), 263-266. https://revistas.usp.br/rimtsp/article/view/30543