title: Occurrence of Vibrio vulnificus and toxigenic Vibrio parahaemolyticus on sea catfishes from Galveston Bay, Texas.
abstract: Dorsal and pectoral fin spines from two species of sea catfishes (Bagre marinus and Ariopsis felis) landed at 54 sites in Galveston Bay, Texas, and its sub-bays from June to October 2005 were screened with traditional cultivation-based assays and quantitative PCR assays for Vibrio vulnificus and Vibrio parahaemolyticus. V. vulnificus was present on 51.2% of fish (n = 247), with an average of 403 ± 337 SD cells g(-1). V. parahaemolyticus was present on 94.2% (n = 247); 12.8% tested positive for the virulence-conferring tdh gene, having an average 2,039 ± 2,171 SD cells g(-1). The increasing trend in seafood consumption of "trash fishes" from lower trophic levels, such as sea catfishes, warrants evaluation of their life histories for association with pathogens of concern for human consumption.
authors.affiliation: Department of Marine Sciences, Texas A&M University, Galveston Campus, 200 Seawolf Parkway, Galveston, Texas 77553, USA.
authors.forename: Leslie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Baumeister
authors.affiliation: Department of Marine Biology, Texas A&M University, Galveston Campus, 200 Seawolf Parkway, Galveston, Texas 77553, USA.
authors.forename: Mona E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Hochman
authors.affiliation: Department of Marine Biology, Texas A&M University, Galveston Campus, 200 Seawolf Parkway, Galveston, Texas 77553, USA.
authors.forename: John R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Schwarz
authors.affiliation: Department of Marine Sciences, Texas A&M University, Galveston Campus, 200 Seawolf Parkway, Galveston, Texas 77553, USA. brinkmer@tamug.edu.
authors.forename: Robin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Brinkmeyer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D061006:Bays; D002397:Catfishes / Q000382:microbiology*; D005516:Food Microbiology / Q000379:methods*; D005843:Geography; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017747:Seafood / Q000382:microbiology*; D013234:Stem Cells; D013696:Temperature; D013781:Texas; D014736:Vibrio parahaemolyticus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D041261:Vibrio vulnificus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D014774:Virulence