title: Effect of intertidal exposure on Vibrio parahaemolyticus levels in Pacific Northwest oysters.
abstract: Interest in Vibrio parahaemolyticus (Vp) increased in the United States following Vp-associated gastroenteritis outbreaks in 1997 and 1998 involving the West Coast and other areas. The present study evaluated multiple aspects of Vp ecology in the Pacific Northwest with three objectives: (i) to determine the effect of low-tide exposure on Vp levels in oysters, (ii) to determine the relationship between total and pathogenic Vp, and (iii) to examine sediments and aquatic fauna as reservoirs for pathogenic Vp. Samples were collected from intertidal reefs along Hood Canal, Wash., in August 2001. Fecal matter from marine mammals and aquatic birds as well as intestinal contents from bottom-dwelling fish were tested. Total and pathogenic Vp levels in all the samples were enumerated with colony hybridization procedures using DNA probes that targeted the thermolabile direct hemolysin (tlh) and thermostable direct hemolysin (tdh) genes, respectively. The mean Vp densities in oysters were four to eight times greater at maximum exposure than at the corresponding first exposure. While tdh-positive Vp counts were generally < or = 10 CFU/g at first exposure, counts as high as 160 CFU/g were found at maximum exposure. Vp concentrations in sediments were not significantly different from those in oysters at maximum exposure. Pathogenic (tdh positive) Vp was detected in 9 of 42 (21%) oyster samples at maximum exposure, in 5 of 19 (26%) sediment samples, but in 0 of 9 excreta samples. These results demonstrate that summer conditions permit the multiplication of Vp in oysters exposed by a receding tide.
authors.affiliation: U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Gulf Coast Seafood Laboratory, I Iberville Drive, Dauphin Island, Alabama 36528-0158, USA. jessica.nordstrom@cfsan.fda.gov
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Nordstrom
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Kaysner
authors.forename: G M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Blackstone
authors.forename: M C L
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Vickery
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Bowers
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: DePaola
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003257:Consumer Product Safety; D015342:DNA Probes; D004197:Disease Reservoirs; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D005516:Food Microbiology; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000382:microbiology; D010125:Ostreidae / Q000382:microbiology*; D010140:Pacific Ocean; D012621:Seasons; D012758:Shellfish / Q000382:microbiology*; D014736:Vibrio parahaemolyticus / Q000302:isolation & purification*
chemical_list: D015342:DNA Probes