Prevalence of Vibrio mimicus in Fish, Fishery Products, and Environment of South West Coast of Kerala, India

Abstract

Abstract Background Vibrio mimicus is a seafood-borne bacterium involved in incidences of human infections following consumption of raw or undercooked seafood. Regular monitoring of seafood for V.mimicus is necessary for risk assessment and to establish mitigation measures. Method During the period 2017–2020, a total of 250 samples comprising finfish, shellfish, water, ice, and sediment samples were collected from fish markets, fish landing centers, and fish farms in the Ernakulum district on the Southwest coast of Kerala, India. V. mimicus was isolated using enrichment in alkaline peptone water for 18 h followed by plating on thiosulfate citrate bile salts sucrose agar and then incubated at 37°C for 18–24 h. The presumptive V. mimicus isolates were confirmed by biochemical characterization and molecularly with vmh gene-specific for V. mimicus. Results The study revealed that the prevalence of V. mimicus is 5.6% in the total of samples screened. The highest occurrence was observed in brackish water fish (19%) followed by freshwater fish (18%) and marine fish (2%) samples. The study points out the risk of brackish water fishes as potential carriers of this pathogen. This requires preventive measures to mitigate health hazards associated with V. mimicus entering into the seafood production chain.