Prevalence, detection of virulence genes and antimicrobial susceptibility of pathogen Vibrio species isolated from different types of seafood samples at La Nueva Viga market in Mexico City

Some Vibrio species are important human pathogens owing to they cause infectious diseases such as gastroenteritis, wound infections, septicemia or even death. Many of these illnesses are associated with consumption of contaminated seafood. In the present study, we evaluated the presence of pathogenic Vibrio species, their virulence and antimicrobial susceptibility from 285 different kind of seafood samples from La Nueva Viga market in Mexico City. The PCR assay was used for amplification the vppC (collagenase), vmh (hemolysin), tlh (thermolabile hemolysin), and vvhA (hemolytic cytolysin) genes that are specific to Vibrio alginolyticus (detected in 27%), Vibrio mimicus (23.2%), Vibrio parahaemolyticus (28.8%) and Vibrio vulnificus (21.1%), respectively. Several genes encoding virulence factors were amplified. These included V. alginolyticus: pvuA (17.9%), pvsA (50%), wza and lafA (100%); V. mimicus: iut A (60%), toxR (100%); V. parahaemolyticus: pvuA (58.7%), pvsA (26.1%), wza (2.2%), and lafA (100%); and V. vulnificus: wcrA (77.5%), gmhD (57.5%), lafA (100%) and motA (30%). The antibiotic susceptibility of the Vibrio species isolates revealed that most of them were resistant to ampicillin, cephalothin and carbenicillin but susceptible to pefloxacin and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. Our results indicated a high prevalence of pathogenic Vibrio species in seafood, a high presence of virulence genes and that Vibrio species continuously exposed to antibiotics, therefore, consumption of these kind of seafood carries a potential risk for foodborne illness.

Automated summary

The study revealed a high prevalence of pathogenic Vibrio species in seafood from La Nueva Viga market in Mexico City, with many of them carrying virulence genes and showing resistance to multiple antibiotics.