Abstract:
Objective To analyze the etiological characteristics and serotype transition of Vibrio parahaemolyticus (VP) isolated from the etiological surveillance for diarrheal diseases during 2021-2024 and VP-associated foodborne disease outbreaks in 2024 in a district of Beijing.
Methods Stool samples collected from diarrhea cases in surveillance during 2021-2024 were used for VP isolation. Additionally, samples from confirmed VP-associated foodborne outbreaks in this district during 2024, including clinical samples, environmental swabs, and suspected contaminated food samples, were collected for the isolation of VP. All the isolates underwent O and K antigen serotyping, fluorescence polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detection of tdh and trh virulence genes and whole-genome sequencing. Based on sequencing data, multilocus sequence typing, virulence and resistance gene screening were performed and a core-genome single nucleotide polymorphism (cgSNP)-based phylogenetic tree was constructed.
Results From 2021 to 2024, the detection rate of VP in sporadic diarrhea cases was 3.48% (45/1 292) in etiological surveillance. The strains belonging to serotype O10:K4 accounted for 75.56% (34/45), while 91.11% of the strains (41/45) carried tdh+/trh− gene, and 86.67% of the strains (39/45) belonged to sequence type 3 (ST3). In 2024, six VP-associated foodborne outbreaks occurred in this district, in which 34 VP strains were isolated, including the strains from case stool samples, environmental swabs and suspected contaminated food samples. All the strains from the cases belonged to O10:K4 (18/18), all the strains from food samples belonged to O1:K66 (6/6), and environmental strains belonged to 7 serotypes. The strains belonged to ST3 accounted for 64.71% (22/34). All the strains carried t3ss1 and mam7 genes, while tdh+ strains also carried t3ss2 gene. All the VP strains carried blaCARB resistance gene. Two tdh−/trh− food strains carried qnrA4 resistance gene. The cgSNP phylogenetic tree showed that tdh+ and tdh− strains formed separate clades. In the tdh+ strains, different serotypes clustered independently. The strains isolated from different years, including the strains from outbreaks and the strains from sporadic cases in surveillance, were intermingled. The differences in single nucleotide polymorphism among tdh+ O10:K4 strains ranged from 0 to 20.
Conclusions During 2021 - 2024, the predominant VP strain in this district of Beijing belonged to serotype O10:K4 and ST3, and carried tdh+/trh− gens. The VP strains isolated in Beijing and surrounding areas might be a single clone group with highly similar genetic characteristics.