Prevalence, Virulence, and Antibiotic Resistance of Vibrio parahaemolyticus from Seafood and its Environment: An Updated Review

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a curved, rod-shaped, Gram-negative, halophilic bacterium that is widely disseminated in coastal, marine, and estuarine environments and causes acute gastroenteritis due to raw or undercooked seafood consumption, wound infection, and septicemia in humans. A wide variety of virulence factors, such as its toxins, type 3 secretion system, type 6 secretion system, adhesins, urea hydrolysis, and flagellar motility, are responsible for initiating infection and causing illness to the host. The pandemic clone emergence that causes global outbreaks is a major concern. Additionally, V. parahaemolyticus has emerged as a shrimp pathogen that causes acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease or early mortality syndrome, which threatens the viability of the shrimp aquaculture industry. Moreover, the emergence of multidrug-resistant V. parahaemolyticus strains in seafood and environmental samples in recent years raises a serious concern of human health on seafood safety. This review highlights the prevalence of V. parahaemolyticus in various countries and newly emerging inland saline aquaculture areas, pathogen-associated seafood-borne outbreaks, and various virulence factors. Additionally, it provides updated literature on antibiotic resistance profiles of V. parahaemolyticus from seafood and environmental samples in recent years.