Occurrence of Proteus mirabilis associated with two species of venezuelan oysters Ocorrência de Proteus mirabilis associado a duas espécies de ostras venezuelanas

• Published in: Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo
• Main Authors: Milagro Fernández-Delgado, Monica Contreras, María Alexandra García-Amado, Pulchérie Gueneau, Paula Suárez
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade de São Paulo (USP) 2007
• Subjects: Proteus mirabilis in bivalves molluscan; Isognomon alatus; Crassostrea rhizophorae; Venezuelan coastal area; Public health and environmental impact; Antibiotic resistance; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Infectious and parasitic diseases; RC109-216; Human health
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/S0036-46652007000600004; https://doaj.org/article/a99fd0c63b3141c18a18eaefc30f3924

The fecal contamination of raw seafood by indicators and opportunistic pathogenic microorganisms represents a public health concern. The objective of this study was to investigate the presence of enteric bacteria colonizing oysters collected from a Venezuelan touristic area. Oyster samples were collected at the northwestern coast of Venezuela and local salinity, pH, temperature, and dissolved oxygen of seawater were recorded. Total and fecal coliforms were measured for the assessment of the microbiological quality of water and oysters, using the Multiple Tube Fermentation technique. Analyses were made using cultures and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Diverse enrichment and selective culture methods were used to isolate enteric bacteria. We obtained pure cultures of Gram-negative straight rods with fimbriae from Isognomon alatus and Crassostrea rhizophorae. Our results show that P. mirabilis was predominant under our culture conditions. We confirmed the identity of the cultures by biochemical tests, 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and data analysis. Other enterobacteria such as Escherichia coli, Morganella morganii and Klebsiella pneumoniae were also isolated from seawater and oysters. The presence of pathogenic bacteria in oysters could have serious epidemiological implications and a potential human health risk associated with consumption of raw seafood. A contaminação fecal de frutos do mar crus por microrganismos oportunistas patogênicos representa problema de saúde pública. O objetivo deste estudo é investigar a presença de bactérias entéricas que colonizam ostras coletadas em área turística da Venezuela. Amostras de ostras foram coletadas na costa noroeste da Venezuela e foram registrados a salinidade local, pH, temperatura e o oxigênio dissolvido na água do mar. O total de coliformes fecais foi medido para a avaliação da qualidade microbiológica da água e das ostras, usando a técnica de fermentação em tubos múltiplos. Análises foram feitas usando culturas e seqüência do gene 16S rRNA. Enriquecimento diversificado e ...