Vibrio parahaemolyticus is widely distributed in the marine environments and considered the leading cause of human gastroenteritis in Asian countries. A total of 150 marketed fish and 50 water and sediment samples from the Gulf of Aqaba were examined for the prevalence of pathogenic strains of V. parahaemolyticus. A total of 132 typical isolates obtained from the primary selective medium (thiosulfate-citrate bile salt sucrose agar) and showed positive biochemical properties were subjected to confirmation by polymerase chain reaction targeting the gyrB and toxR genes. These genes were confirmed at rates of 82% (108 isolates) and 72% (95 isolates), respectively. The toxR positive isolates were tested for the presence of thermolabile hemolysin (tlh), thermostable direct hemolysin (tdh), and tdh-related hemolysin (trh) virulence genes. Accordingly, the prevalence rates of pathogenic V. parahaemolyticus were 4%, 8%, and 12% in sediment, water, and fish samples, respectively. The 16S rRNA amplification and sequences were conducted for confirmation of the isolates and showing the relatedness among these isolates. The results showed that both 16S rRNA and toxR assays had same sensitivity and tested isolates had high nucleotide similarity irrespective of their sources.
Keywords: Vibrio parahaemolyticus; coastal environment; fish.
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