Prevalence and Genetic Characterization of Foodborne Vibrio Isolated from Persian Gulf Seafood

Backgrounds: Vibrio species are of particular concern due to their association with gastroenteritis after consuming raw seafood. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of Vibrio species and the frequency of virulence genes in Vibrio isolates from the Persian Gulf seafood.
Materials & Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 118 samples of marine fish, shrimp, salted fish, and salted shrimp were collected from seafood markets along the southeastern coast of Iran. The collected samples were enriched in alkaline peptone water and then cultured on thiosulfate citrate bile salt sucrose agar medium. Vibrio species were identified using multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting the sodB, flaE, and hsp genes. Additionally, the virulence genes toxR, trh, and tdh were identified through PCR.
Findings: A total of 68 Vibrio isolates were collected from 118 samples, including 48 (70%) V. parahaemolyticus isolates, 14 (20%) V. cholera isolates, and six (9%) V. vulnificus isolates. No isolates of V. mimicus were found. Among the isolates, the Tdh and toxR genes were detected in 16 (23%) and 35 (51%) cases, respectively. Additionally, 12 (18%) isolates contained both genes. The Trh gene was not detected in any of the samples.
Conclusion: The seafood market in southeastern Iran serves as a crucial hub for distributing marine products to other provinces. The presence of Vibrio species, particularly V. parahaemolyticus, along with their virulence factors in these marine products may pose a risk of infection to consumers. This underscores the importance of proper handling practices when preparing seafood.