Detection of virulence factors and pulsed field gel electrophoresis analysis of Vibrio parahaemolyticus isolated from Wuxi from 2009-2011

Objectives To investigate the prevalence of virulence factors possessed by Vibrio parahaemolyticus and to molecularly type homologous serotype strains isolated from Wuxi from 2009-2011.Methods PCR was used to detect tdh,trh,and tlh virulence genes of the 35 strains of V.parahaemolyticus,and pulsed field gel electrophoresis(PFGE) was used to molecularly type O3: K6 serotype strains in accordance with the laboratory directions for molecular typing of V.parahaemolyticus using PFGE(PulseNet,USA).Cluster analysis was done with BioNumerics software.Results The distribution of the tdh,trh,and tlh virulence genes among the 35 strains was 85.7%,8.6%,and 100%.About 77.1% of isolates were tdh+,trh-,and tlh+.PFGE divided 19 strains of V.parahaemolyticus of O3: K6 serotype into 9 different genotypes,and strains with a 100% identical genotype appeared at similar times during the period studied.Conclusion V.parahaemolyticus strains in Wuxi are highly pathogenic,and the O3: K6 serotype strains have the potential to cause an outbreak.Surveillance of V.parahaemolyticus needs to be enhanced.