FOOD SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY | RESEARCH ARTICLE Prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility of Vibrio parahaemolyticus isolated from seafoods in Lagos Lagoon Nigeria

2 Abstract: In this study, a total of 90 seafood samples; croaker fish (Pseudotolithus senegalensis), shrimps (Penaeus notialis) and blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) collected from landing sites along the Lagos Lagoon in Nigeria were examined for the preva- lence of Vibrio parahaemolyticus using both biochemical and molecular methods. Biochemical identification of the isolates was confirmed by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). The presence of the virulence-associated tdh (thermostable direct haemolysin), trh 1 (thermostable-related haemolysin) and trh 2 genes in the V. parahaemolyticus isolates was also detected by the PCR method. PCR products from the V.16S primers were sequenced. Antibiotics susceptibility of the isolates was also determined. About, eight isolates were presumptively identified as V. parahaemolyticus, PCR identified five and none of the isolates were positive for the genes tdh or trh. The five isolates sequenced were identified as different strains of V. parahaemolyticus. V. parahaemolyti cus_RIMD_2210633 = 2MKSHa remained resistant to all antimicrobials tested. However, only V. parahaemolyticus_MP-2_AY911391 = TBSHy showed strong sensitivity to all the antimicrobials with ampicillin (minimum inhibitory concentration-4 μg/ml). In addition, the other three isolates showed sensitivity for Tetracycline, Ciprofloxacin, Gentamicin and Ceftazidime. Ampicillin resistance in most of the isolates suggests low efficiency of ampicillin in management of V. parahaemolyticus infection.