Journal of the Marine Biological Association of India

Incidence, virulence potential and antibiotic susceptibility of Vibrio parahaemolyticus associated with traditional shrimp culture systems of Ernakulam, Kerala

Volume 65 Issue 1

Reshma R. Nair, M. P. Safeena, Anu Ruby Benny, Praveen Rai and Devika Pillai

doi:10.6024/jmbai.2023.65.1.2346-06

Abstract

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a versatile, halophilic organism with the potential to act as a shrimp pathogen and a severe human pathogen. The study explores the incidence, virulence potential, and antimicrobial susceptibility of V. parahaemolyticus isolates from diseased penaeid shrimp samples obtained from 50 different aquafarms in Ernakulam, Kerala. A total of 121 isolates of V. parahaemolyticus were identified by conventional methods and further confirmed by PCR targeting the species-specific markers such as toxR and tlh genes. All the isolates were confirmed to be in the non-AHPND group and non-virulent to humans without the tdh and trh genes. Antibiogram analysis of the isolates against a set of 13 commonly used antibiotics revealed the highest resistance towards Amoxyclav in over 71.4% of all the isolates. In contrast, all the isolates showed sensitivity to chloramphenicol (100%). The current study reveals that 82 (68%) of the 121 isolates were showing MAR index greater than 0.2 indicating the potential of these multi-drug resistant isolates to remain as a hub of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes in aquatic systems. Continuous evaluation of antimicrobial resistance in aquaculture environments is essential to minimize the flow of clinically important AMR bacteria from culture systems to the outside environment. The region-specific study, therefore, provides information about the existence of nonvirulent, non-AHPND, multidrug-resistant V. parahaemolyticus in the traditional culture ponds, demanding the need for adopting ideal, eco-friendly alternative measures that could substitute the use of antibiotics in the shrimp culture ecosystems thereby minimizing the chances for detention and rejection of frozen shrimp exported from our country.

Keywords

Aquaculture, antimicrobial resistance, antibiogram, disease, MAR index

Date : 03-05-2023