Screening of vibrio spp. isolated from sea cucumber stichopus horrens

Abstract

Lack of knowledge about ingestion of raw or undercooked sea cucumber might contribute to the increase of food poisoning cases around the world. This study aim to screen the pathogenic bacteria Vibrio spp. isolated from the sea cucumber Stichopus horrens. An experimental study was conducted by collecting 20 samples of Stichopus horrens from Pangkor Island, Malaysia. The samples were transferred to the lab for microbiology analysis. The bacterial count (CFU/ml) method was utilized to quantify the Vibrio spp. in the samples, followed by bacteriologic culture technique on Thiosulfate Citrate Bile Salts Sucrose (TCBS) agar. Vibrio spp. was further confirmed by biochemical tests and antibiotic sensitivity tests. The outcome showed that total presumptive Vibrio counts of sea cucumber were 11.8 ± 1.79 log CFU/ml. Based on the colony morphology and biochemical tests, the Vibrio species presence were confirmed isolated from the sea cucumber. The most frequently isolated Vibrio spp. were Vibrio cholerae (35%), followed by Vibrio parahemolyticus (15%), Vibrio alginolyticus (5%) and Vibrio vulnificus (5%). These species were susceptible to tetracycline and streptomycine while being resistant to ampicilin. Overall, it was indicated that Vibrio spp. was not detected in (40%) of the sea cucumbers Stichopus horrens while detected in the other (60%).