Seasonal and Spatial Variation of Pathogenic Vibrio Species Isolated from Seawater and Shellfish off the Gyeongnam Coast of Korea in 2013-2016

摘要

The seasonal and spatial variation of pathogenic Vibrio species, such as V parahaemolyticus, V. vulnificus, V. algi-nolyticus, and V. cholerae were investigated in seawater and in bivalves off the Gyeongnam coast of Korea, which is an important area for shellfish production, during the period 2013-2016. V. parahaemolyticus, V. vulnificus, V. alginolyticus, and V. cholerae were detected in 12.1%, 5.2%, 15.4%, and 0.9% of seawater samples, respectively. V. parahaemolyticus, V. vulnificus, V. alginolyticus, and V. cholera were detected in 21.9%, 7.1%, 12.2%, and 0.0% of shellfish samples, respectively. The Vibrio spp. in seawater and bivalve samples were detected at high levels during the summer to early autumn; however, the levels were low during thewinter. Therefore, their occurrence was seasonally dependent and correlated with high water temperature, which is also the biggest factor contributing to foodborne outbreaks associated with Vibrio. Relatively high detection rates of the strains were alsofound in the sea area that was continually exposed to inland wastewater. Our findings show that continuous monitoring is needed to reveal the patterns of occurrence of these pathogens from marine samples collected off the Korean coast, to reduce seafood-borne outbreaks caused by Vibrio.