Occurrence of Virulence Genes Associated with Human Pathogenic Vibrios Isolated from Two Commercial Dusky Kob ( Argyrosmus japonicus ) Farms and Kareiga Estuary in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

Justine Fri, Roland Ndip Ndip, Henry Akum Njom and Anna Maria Clarke
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Justine Fri: Microbial Pathogenicity and Molecular Epidemiology Research Group (MPMERG), Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Fort Hare, Alice 5700, South Africa
Roland Ndip Ndip: Microbial Pathogenicity and Molecular Epidemiology Research Group (MPMERG), Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Fort Hare, Alice 5700, South Africa
Henry Akum Njom: Microbial Pathogenicity and Molecular Epidemiology Research Group (MPMERG), Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Fort Hare, Alice 5700, South Africa
Anna Maria Clarke: Microbial Pathogenicity and Molecular Epidemiology Research Group (MPMERG), Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Fort Hare, Alice 5700, South Africa

IJERPH, 2017, vol. 14, issue 10, 1-12

Abstract: Background : Seafood-borne Vibrio infections, often linked to contaminated seafood and water, are of increasing global public health concern. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of human pathogenic vibrios and their associated virulence genes isolated from fish and water samples from 2 commercial dusky kob farms and Kareiga estuary, South Africa. Methods : A total of 200 samples including dusky kob fish ( n = 120) and seawater ( n = 80) were subjected to Vibrio screening on thiosulfate-citrate-bile salts-sucrose agar (TCBS). Presumptive isolates were confirmed and delineated to V. cholerae , V. parahaemolyticus , V. vulnificus , and V. fluvialis by PCR. Various pathogenic gene markers were screened: V. parahaemolyticus ( trh and tdh ), V. vulnificus ( vcgE and vcgC) and V. fluvialis (stn, vfh, hupO , vfpA ). Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) of the vvh A gene of V. vulnificus strains was performed to determine the associated biotypes. Results : Total Vibrio prevalence was 59.4% (606/1020) of which V. fluvialis was the most predominant 193 (31.85%), followed by Vibrio vulnificus 74 (12.21%) and V. parahaemolyticus 33 (5.45%). No V. cholerae strain was detected. One of the V. parahaemolyticus strains possessed the trh gene 7 (9.46%) while most (91.9%; 68/74) V. vulnificus isolates were of the E-type genotype. V. fluvialis virulence genes detected were stn (13.5%), hupO (10.4%) and vfpA (1.0%). 12.16% (9/74) of V. vulnificus strains exhibited a biotype 3 RFLP pattern. Conclusions : This is the first report of potentially pathogenic vibrios from healthy marine fish in the study area, and therefore a public health concern.

Keywords: marine fish; human pathogenic vibrios; virulence; human health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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