Distribution, prevalence, molecular typing, and virulence of Vibrio parahaemolyticus isolated from different sources in coastal province Jiangsu, China

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is one of the most important foodborne pathogens in China, Japan and other countries. In this study we reported the distribution, prevalence, molecular characterization and virulence of V. parahaemolyticus from aquatic products, cooked food and clinical patients. In aquatic products, the prevalence of V. parahaemolyticus was 47.2% and the prevalence of tdh+ and trh+ strains was 8.5% and 1.5%, respectively. The prevalence of V. parahaemolyticus in clinical samples was 24.9% and 96.1% of the clinical strains were tdh+ and 62.7% of the clinical strains were orf8+. A total of 341 strains were classified into six molecular types and 23 subtype by random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD). Subtypes A1 and subtype F8 were the two major subtypes and strains of these two subtypes accounted for 45.5% and 25.8%, respectively. tdh+ strains mainly belonged to subtype A1 (78.6%) and subtype F8 (15.0%) and all the orf8+ strains belonged to subtype A1. V. parahaemolyticus could be transmitted not only through seafood but also through freshwater products in food chains. The tdh+ strains especially orf8+ strains were the main toxigenic pathogen that caused foodborne diseases in Jiangsu, China.