Seasonal distribution of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in freshwater environs and in association with freshwater fishes in Calcutta

Abstract

The seasonal distribution of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in freshwater environs and in association with freshwater fishes was studied in 1982 and 1983. The occurrence of this organism in water and sediments at the three sites studied was very infrequent and was restricted to the summer months, although it was not always isolated during these months. The association of V. parahaemolyticus with plankton was chiefly confined to the summer months and progressively declined with the onset of monsoons, remaining below detectable levels during the postmonsoon and winter months. The incidence and counts of V. parahaemolyticus were consistently higher in association with plankton than with water and sediment samples. V. parahaemolyticus could be recovered throughout the period of investigation from freshly caught and market samples of freshwater fishes. The highest recovery rate of this halophile from fishes was invariably from fecal samples. Most of the strains isolated in this study were untypable, and those which could be typed were predominantly serotypes encountered in the environment. All the isolates were Kanagawa negative. From this study, it could be concluded that the survival of V. parahaemolyticus in freshwater ecosystems is transient and dependent on a biological host.