Prevalence and population analysis ofVibrio parahaemolyticusin retail aquatic products from the southern Fujian coast, China

Vibrio parahaemolyticusis one of the most hazardous pathogens causing seafood-borne diseases in the southern Fujian coast, China. From June to October 2016, a total of 250 samples were collected from retail markets in the Xiamen, Quanzhou, and Zhangzhou regions. Seventy-sevenV. parahaemolyticusisolates were identified using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Then, molecular typing was performed using repetitive extragenic palindromic-PCR (REP-PCR). The distribution of seven virulence genes was detected by PCR. In aquatic products, the prevalence ofV. parahaemolyticuswas 30.8%, and the prevalence oftdh(+)andtrh(+)was 2.6 and 1.3%, respectively. The prevalence of type III secretion system-2 (T3SS2) and theureCgene was 5.2 and 3.9%, respectively. All 77 strains and the reference strainV. parahaemolyticusATCC 17802 were classified into seven molecular types using REP-PCR. Thus, our findings demonstrated that the prevalence ofV. parahaemolyticuswas severe in the southern Fujian coast and that the regulations for aquatic food safety should be strengthened.