Increased incidence and antimicrobial resistance among Vibrio parahaemolyticus in shellfishes from major fish markets in Cochin, South India: Seafood risk assessment

Reshma Silvester,Anagha Rani Divakaran,P.M Dilshana,M Harikrishnan,Mohamed Hatha,Amala Saji,Radha Nair

doi:10.2478/aoas-2021-0077

Reshma Silvester, Anagha Rani Divakaran + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.2478/aoas-2021-0077

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Abstract

Abstract India remains as a top supplier of value-added seafoods to the global markets. Cochin is one of the leading fishing ports in India contributing to country’s major seafood export. As part of risk assessment, we analyzed the prevalence of multi-drug resistant Vibrio parahaemolyticus; seafood borne gastroenteritis-causing pathogen, in shellfishes collected from major fish markets in Cochin. This bacterial species was initially isolated on thiosulfate-citrate-bile salts-sucrose agar and HiCrome™ Vibrio agar, further confirmed by detection of V. parahaemolyticus species-specific toxR gene and by 16S r RNA sequencing. A total of 113 confirmed V. parahaemolyticus were recovered. Almost all the strains exhibited resistance towards three or more antibiotics (multiple-drug resistant) and harbored virulence related exoenzymes especially hemolysin (Kanagawa phenomenon); which is indeed a matter of concern. The multiple antibiotic resistance (MAR) index of the isolates ranged from 0.21 to 0.57. Furthermore, our results also indicate a substantial increase in the incidence of the pathogen in seafood from the area compared to previous years. This may pose a risk to the local and international consumers of the seafood. Practicing complete hygiene and adequate cooking is strongly recommended. Regular monitoring of aquaculture areas and fish markets is urged to reduce dissemination of pathogenic V. parahaemolyticus in seafood and to prevent fatal cases of human infection induced by this species in the country.

Highlights

Among the various diseases, vibriosis caused by pathogenic Vibrio spp. is the most common which has led to mass mortality among fish and shellfish in Asian countries (Ananda Raja et al, 2017 a, b, c; Ina-Salwany et al, 2019)
In a recent study from China, V. parahaemolyticus was isolated from fresh aquatic products including 19 species of shellfish, 2 species of crustaceans, and 2 species of fishes collected from Shanghai fish markets (Su and Chen, 2020)
The study highlights the presence of multiple antibiotic resistant V. parahaemolyticus with virulence potential in the seafood samples

Summary

Introduction

Vibriosis caused by pathogenic Vibrio spp. is the most common which has led to mass mortality among fish and shellfish in Asian countries (Ananda Raja et al, 2017 a, b, c; Ina-Salwany et al, 2019). Absence of tdh and trh was reported in clinical strains of V. parahaemolyticus (Pazhani et al, 2014). This suggests that pathogenicity of this bacterium is rather complex and involves multiple factors. Many pathogenic Vibrio spp. are reported to develop high degree of resistance to many clinically important antibiotics (Letchumanan et al, 2015). The increasing emergence and spread of antibiotic-resistant V. parahaemolyticus strains is a matter of major concern in many countries (Ahmed et al, 2018; Elmahdi et al, 2016; Letchumanan et al, 2014)

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