Virulence gene and antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of Vibrio parahaemoluyticus isolated from seafoods at restaurants in Nha Trang

Abstract

A cross - sectional study was conducted to assess the characteristics of virulence genes by multiplex-PCR, antimicrobial susceptibility was studied using disk diffusion method of V. parahaemolyticus isolated from 200 seafood samples at restaurants in Nha Trang from 2019 - 2020. The results indicated that 26% of seafood samples were identified as V. parahaemolyticus positive. The tlh gene was present in 100% of isolates, the tdh gene was identified in two (3.8%) isolates, whereas the trh gene was not detected. Antimicrobial susceptibility results revealed that 100% isolates were resistant to streptomycin. Moreover, the V. parahaemolyticus isolates were resistant to ampicillin (11.5%), kanamycin (7.7%), tetracycline (5.8%) and piperacillin (3.9%). Our findings suggest that consumption of raw or undercooked seafood poses a potential risk of food poisoning, affect public health especially for people who have a weakened immune system.