Vibrio parahaemolyticus infectious for both humans and edible mollusk abalone

The aims of this study are to report evidence of the first laboratory-acquired infection of Vibrio parahaemolyticus associated with handling experimentally infected abalones and to describe the virulence of the two bacterial strains tested in these animals. Two strains of V parahaemolyticus, one from the stool of a patient with acute gastroenteritis (strain 880713) and the other from the hemolymph of a diseased small abalone Haliotis diversicolor supertexta (strain 880915), were identified and characterized. Both strains were lethal to small abalone, with similar LD50 values (8.36-8.41 x 10(4) colony-forming units/g abalone). Laboratory-acquired infection resulted in one individual experiencing two episodes of acute gastroenteritis due to handling virulence tests during a 1-week interval. Our present results suggest that a V parahaemolyticus strain isolated from the stool of a patient with gastroenteritis was infectious for small abalone, a major species of edible mollusk abalone cultured in Taiwan, while a similar strain isolated from hemolymph of a diseased small abalone was infectious for humans. This is the first report of V parahaemolyticus virulent to small abalone as a zoonotic pathogen. (C) 2003 Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.