Open AccessTemporal and Spatial Variation in the Abundance of Total and Pathogenic Vibrio parahaemolyticus in Shellfish in China
Author(s) -
Haihong Han,
Fengqin Li,
Wei Yan,
Yunchang Guo,
Ning Li,
Xiumei Liu,
Jianghui Zhu,
Jin Xu,
Yan Chen,
Xiugui Li,
Hong Lv,
Yiqian Zhang,
Te Cai,
Yuzhen Chen
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0130302
Subject(s) - vibrio parahaemolyticus , shellfish , biology , abundance (ecology) , microbiology and biotechnology , china , ecology , aquatic animal , fishery , fish <actinopterygii> , bacteria , geography , genetics , archaeology
We investigated the abundance of total and pathogenic Vibrio parahaemolyticus in shellfish sampled from four provinces in China during May 2013 and March 2014 using the most probable number-polymerase chain reaction (MPN-PCR) method. Total V . parahaemolyticus was detected in 67.7% of 496 samples. A total of 38.1% and 10.1% of samples exceeded 1,000 MPN g -1 and 10,000 MPN g -1 , respectively. V . parahaemolyticus densities followed a seasonal and geographical trend, with Guangxi and Sichuan shellfish possessing total V . parahaemolyticus levels that were 100-fold higher than those of the Liaoning and Shandong regions. Moreover, the levels of V . parahaemolyticus were at least 10-fold higher in the summer and autumn than in the cooler seasons. Pathogenic V . parahaemolyticus levels were generally lower than total V . parahaemolyticus levels by several log units and tended to be high in samples contaminated with high total V . parahaemolyticus levels. The aqua farms had a lower prevalence but higher abundance of total V . parahaemolyticus compared to retail markets. The catering markets showed the lowest levels of total V . parahaemolyticus , but 20.0% of samples exceeded 1,000 MPN g -1 . The levels of both total and pathogenic V . parahaemolyticus in oysters were higher than in clams. The log-transformed abundance of V . parahaemolyticus was significantly correlated with both water temperature and air temperature but not water salinity. These results provide baseline contamination data of V . parahaemolyticus in shellfish in China, which can be applied to local risk assessments to prioritize risk control to key sectors and evaluate the effectiveness of future control measures.