DOMAIN Bacteria

PHYLUM Proteobacteria

CLASS Gamma - Proteobacteria

ORDER Vibrionales

FAMILY Vibrionaceae

GENUS Vibrio

SPECIES Vibrio parahaemolyticus & Vibrio vulnificus

Vibrio parahaemolyticus Halophilic Gram negative rod Facultative anaerobe Warm marine and estuarine

Vibrio vulnificus Halophilic Gram negative rod Facultative anaerobe Warm marine and estuarine

DISEASES V. parahaemolyticus Gastroenteritis Wound infection V. vulnificus Wound infection Gastroenteritis Primary septicemia

INFECTION OF V.p. Ingestion of un/under cooked shellfish, Exposure of Open Wound Symptoms hours after ingestion Attaches to the lining of the small intestine Excretes an unidentified toxin

INFECTION OF V.v. Ingestion of un/under cooked shellfish, Exposure of Open Wound Symptoms hours after ingestion Enters blood stream resulting in septic shock

CLINAL FEATURES V. parahaemolyticus Watery diarrhea Abdominal cramping Nausea Vomiting Fever Wound infections V. Vulnificus Wound infection Soft tissue infections Bloodstream infections -Fever and chills -Decreased blood pressure -skin lesions - death

RATES OF PATHOGENIC VIBRIO INFECTIONS Vibrio SpeciesGastroenteritisWound Infection SepticemiaMiscellaneous Vibrio parahaemolyticus 59%34%5%2% Vibrio vulnificus5%45%43%7%

TESTING Isolation by stool culture Thiosulfate, citrate, bile salts, and sucrose (TCBS) media necessary Rarely used by clinical laboratories

EPIDEMIOLOGY UNITED STATES  8000 Vibrio infections  60 Vibrio related deaths

EPIDEMIOLOGY V. parahaemolyticus YEARLY 3000 cases of infection 40 hospitalizations 7 deaths

MAJOR OUTBREAKS July – August, 1997 Oysters from CA, OR, WA and British Columbia 209 infections, 1 death July – September, 1998 Oysters and Clams in Long Island Sound CT, NJ, and NY residents

EPIDEMIOLOGY V. vulnificus YEARLY 95 cases of infection 85 hospitalizations 35 deaths

V.v. CONTINUED No recorded major outbreaks 30 – 40% of all deaths caused by Vibrios 50% mortality rate for “primary septicemia”

RESEARCH Virulence factors Toxin production Antibiotic treatments

REFERENCES Hatsumi Nasu, Tetsuya Iida,Tomomi Sugahara, Yoshiharu Yamaichi, Kwon-Sam Park, Katsushi Yokoyama, Kozo Makino, Hideo Shinagawa, and Takeshi Honda. “A Filamentous Phage Associated with Recent Pandemic Vibrio parahaemolyticus O3:K6 Strains.” Journal of Clinical Microbiology. June 2000, Vol. 38, No. 6 p , Vibrio parahaemolyticus.” Online. Center for Disease Control. 23 November Available: “Vibrio vulnificus.” Online. Center for Disease Control. 23 November Available: “Vibrio parahaemolyticus.” Online. Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. 2 December Available: “Vibrio vulnificus.” Online. Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. 2 December Available: “Vibrio Vulnificus Illness Fact Sheet.” Online. Community Health Administration. 6 December Available: William B. Nilsson, Rohinee N. Paranjpye, Angelo DePaola, and Mark S. Strom. “Sequence Polymorphism of the 16S rRNA Gene of Vibrio vulnificus Is a Possible Indicator of Strain Virulence.” Journal of Clinical Microbiology. January 2003 Volume 41, no. 1, p