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Journal of Medical Case Reports May 2023Vibrio vulnificus is a gram-negative bacterium causing three clinical syndromes namely, gastrointestinal symptoms, skin sepsis and primary sepsis. Primary sepsis... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Vibrio vulnificus is a gram-negative bacterium causing three clinical syndromes namely, gastrointestinal symptoms, skin sepsis and primary sepsis. Primary sepsis exhibits mortality rates exceeding 50%, particularly in the immunocompromised. Vibrio vulnificus is transmitted via consumption of contaminated seafood and contaminated seawater skin exposure. We describe a rare case of an immunocompetent male presenting with an atypical Vibrio vulnificus infection, culminating in severe pneumonia requiring intensive care.
CASE PRESENTATION
A 46 year old Indian male dockyard worker, a non-smoker and teetotaler, of Indian origin presented to the emergency treatment unit of a tertiary care hospital in Sri Lanka, with fever, productive cough with yellow sputum, pleuritic chest pain and tachypnea for five days. He had no gastrointestinal or skin manifestations. His respiratory rate was 38 breaths/min, pulse rate was 120 bpm, blood pressure was 107/75 mmHg and pulse oximetry was 85% on air. Chest X-ray revealed consolidation of the left lung. Empiric intravenous Piperacillin-tazobactam and Clarithromycin were commenced after obtaining blood and sputum cultures. Over the next 24 h, his oxygen requirement rose and as he required vasopressor support, he was admitted to the intensive care unit. He was intubated and bronchoscopy was performed on day two, which demonstrated thick secretions from left upper bronchial segments. His antibiotics were changed to intravenous ceftriaxone and doxycycline following a positive blood culture report of Vibrio vulnificus. He was ventilated for ten days and his intensive care stay was complicated with a non-oliguric acute kidney injury, with serum creatinine rising up to 8.67 mg/dL (0.81-0.44 mg/dL). He developed mild thrombocytopenia with platelets dropping to 115 × 10 /uL (150-450 × 10/uL) which resolved spontaneously. Vasopressors were weaned off by day eight and the patient was extubated on day ten. He was discharged from intensive care on day twelve and made a full recovery.
CONCLUSIONS
Pneumonia itself is an atypical manifestation of Vibrio vulnificus and furthermore, this patient was immunocompetent and did not exhibit the classical gastro-intestinal and skin manifestations. This case highlights the occurrence of atypical Vibrio sp. infections in patients with high exposure risks and the need for early supportive and appropriate antibiotic therapies.
Topics: Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Vibrio vulnificus; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Doxycycline; Sepsis; Multiple Organ Failure; Pneumonia; Vibrio Infections
PubMed: 37202814
DOI: 10.1186/s13256-023-03943-9 -
Epidemiology and Infection May 2008In this study, we have analysed the epidemiological significance of the concurrent infections caused by Vibrio cholerae and intestinal parasites among different age...
In this study, we have analysed the epidemiological significance of the concurrent infections caused by Vibrio cholerae and intestinal parasites among different age groups of hospitalized diarrhoeal patients in Kolkata. A total of 3556 stool samples collected during 1996-2004 were screened for vibrios and parasites. The seasonality of V. cholerae and parasitic infections were studied in detail. The detection rates for Ascaris lumbricoides and Giardia lamblia infection were more than for the hookworm, Trichuris trichiura and Entamoeba histolytica. V. cholerae O1 was identified as the predominant serogroup among diarrhoeal patients. The highest rates for V. cholerae infection were in the 2-5 years age group and combined infection of V. cholerae and parasites was recorded among children aged between 2 and 10 years.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Animals; Child; Child, Preschool; Diarrhea; Eukaryota; Feces; Helminths; Humans; Incidence; India; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Middle Aged; Parasitic Diseases; Seasons; Vibrio Infections; Vibrio cholerae
PubMed: 17594735
DOI: 10.1017/S0950268807008886 -
BMC Microbiology Mar 2020V. parahaemolyticus is autochthonous to the marine environment and causes seafood-borne gastroenteritis in humans. Generally, V. parahaemolyticus recovered from the...
BACKGROUND
V. parahaemolyticus is autochthonous to the marine environment and causes seafood-borne gastroenteritis in humans. Generally, V. parahaemolyticus recovered from the environment and/or seafood is thought to be non-pathogenic and the relationship between environmental isolates and acute diarrhoeal disease is poorly understood. In this study, we explored the virulence potential of environmental V. parahaemolyticus isolated from water, plankton and assorted seafood samples collected from the Indian coast.
RESULTS
Twenty-two V. parahaemolyticus isolates from seafood harboured virulence associated genes encoding the thermostable-direct haemolysin (TDH), TDH-related haemolysin (TRH), and Type 3 secretion systems (T3SS) and 95.5% of the toxigenic isolates had pandemic strain attributes (toxRS/new). Nine serovars, with pandemic strain traits were newly identified and an O4:K36 tdhtrhV. parahaemolyticus bearing pandemic marker gene was recognised for the first time. Results obtained by reverse transcription PCR showed trh, T3SS1 and T3SS2β to be functional in the seafood isolates. Moreover, the environmental strains were cytotoxic and could invade Caco-2 cells upon infection as well as induce changes to the tight junction protein, ZO-1 and the actin cytoskeleton.
CONCLUSION
Our study provides evidence that environmental isolates of V. parahaemolyticus are potentially invasive and capable of eliciting pathogenic characteristics typical of clinical strains and present a potential health risk. We also demonstrate that virulence of this pathogen is highly complex and hence draws attention for the need to investigate more reliable virulence markers in order to distinguish the environmental and clinical isolates, which will be crucial for the pathogenomics and control of this pathogen.
Topics: Actin Cytoskeleton; Bacterial Proteins; Bacterial Toxins; Caco-2 Cells; Hemolysin Proteins; Humans; India; Phylogeny; Plankton; Seafood; Type III Secretion Systems; Vibrio Infections; Vibrio parahaemolyticus; Virulence Factors; Water Microbiology; Zonula Occludens-1 Protein
PubMed: 32293257
DOI: 10.1186/s12866-020-01746-2 -
Microbiome Oct 2023Shrimp cultured in a biofloc system (BFS) have a lower disease incidence than those farmed in a water exchange system (WES). Although a number of studies have reported...
BACKGROUND
Shrimp cultured in a biofloc system (BFS) have a lower disease incidence than those farmed in a water exchange system (WES). Although a number of studies have reported that the gut bacterial community induced by BFS is highly associated with shrimp disease resistance, the causal relationship remains unknown. Here, the promotive roles of gut bacterial community induced by BFS in pathogenic Vibrio infection resistance and its potential micro-ecological and physiological mechanisms were investigated by gut bacterial consortium transplantation and synthetic community (SynCom) construction.
RESULTS
The BFS induced a more stable and resistant gut bacterial community, and significantly enriched some beneficial bacterial taxa, such as Paracoccus, Ruegeria, Microbacterium, Demequina, and Tenacibaculum. Transplantation of a gut bacterial consortium from BFS shrimp (Enrich) greatly enhanced the stability of the bacterial community and resistance against pathogenic V. parahaemolyticus infection in WES shrimp, while transplantation of a gut bacterial consortium from WES shrimp significantly disrupted the bacterial community and increased pathogen susceptibility in both WES and BFS shrimp. The addition of Enrich in shrimp postlarvae also improved the pathogen resistance through increasing the relative abundances of beneficial bacterial taxa and stability of bacterial community. The corresponding strains of five beneficial bacterial taxa enriched in BFS shrimp were isolated to construct a SynCom. The addition of SynCom could not only suppress disease development, but also improve shrimp growth, boost the digestive and immune activities, and restore health in diseased shrimp. Furthermore, the strains of SynCom well colonized shrimp gut to maintain a high stability of bacterial community.
CONCLUSIONS
Our study reveals an important role for native microbiota in protecting shrimp from bacterial pathogens and provides a micro-ecological regulation strategy towards the development of probiotics to ameliorate aquatic animal diseases. Video Abstract.
Topics: Animals; Vibrio parahaemolyticus; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Penaeidae; Bacteria; Vibrio Infections; Aquaculture
PubMed: 37858205
DOI: 10.1186/s40168-023-01663-2 -
International Journal of Molecular... Oct 2022In the Hippo pathway, activation of Hippo and Warts (Wts) kinases results in the phosphorylation of Yorkie (Yki), to prevent its nuclear translocation. Shrimp...
In the Hippo pathway, activation of Hippo and Warts (Wts) kinases results in the phosphorylation of Yorkie (Yki), to prevent its nuclear translocation. Shrimp aquaculture is threatened by genus bacteria. In this study, we examine the role of the Hippo pathway in immune defense against in Pacific white shrimp . We show that infection promotes the expression of Yki and facilitates the dephosphorylation and nuclear translocation of Yki, indicating the inhibition of Hippo signaling upon bacterial infection. There is a complex regulatory relationship between the Hippo pathway components Hippo, Wts, and Yki and the immune-related transcription factors Dorsal, Relish, and STAT. Silencing of Hippo and Wts weakened hemocyte phagocytosis, while the silencing of Yki enhanced it, suggesting a positive regulation of shrimp cellular immunity by Hippo signaling activation. In vivo silencing of Hippo and Wts decreased the survival rates of -infected shrimp and elevated the bacterial content in tissues, while the silencing of Yki showed the opposite results. This suggests that the activation of Hippo signaling and the inhibition of Yki enhance antibacterial immunity in shrimp.
Topics: Animals; Immunity; Penaeidae; Signal Transduction; Transcription Factors; Vibrio Infections; Vibrio parahaemolyticus
PubMed: 36233199
DOI: 10.3390/ijms231911897 -
BMC Infectious Diseases Aug 2021Vibrio vulnificus has been reported as the leading causative pathogen of necrotizing fasciitis (NF) and related fatality in the coastal area. Necrotizing fasciitis...
Bacteriology and mortality of necrotizing fasciitis in a tertiary coastal hospital with comparing risk indicators of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Vibrio vulnificus infections: a prospective study.
BACKGROUND
Vibrio vulnificus has been reported as the leading causative pathogen of necrotizing fasciitis (NF) and related fatality in the coastal area. Necrotizing fasciitis caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and V. vulnificus have high mortality rates. The purpose of this prospective study was to clarify the clinical characteristics between death and survival NF patients, to investigate bacteriologic profile and mortality of NF patients, and to compare risk indicators of MRSA and V. vulnificus NF patients.
METHODS
This prospective study was conducted in 184 consecutive NF patients over a period of three years in a tertiary coastal hospital. Differences in mortality, laboratory findings, microbiology and clinical outcomes were compared between the death and survival groups, and the V. vulnificus and MRSA subgroups.
RESULTS
Twenty patients died, resulting in a mortality rate of 10.9%, and there were 108 patients with a monomicrobial infection (58.7%). The death group had a significantly higher incidence of shock at emergency room and bacteremia than did the survival group. Vibrio species (40 cases) and S. aureus (31 cases) were the two major pathogens. Significant differences with respect to hepatic dysfunction, shock, the event with seawater or seafood contact, bacteremia, C-reactive protein, mean platelet counts, and the Laboratory Risk Indicator for Necrotizing Fasciitis (LRINEC) score were observes between V. vulnificus and MRSA groups.
CONCLUSIONS
NF patients with both hepatic dysfunction and diabetes mellitus, bacteremia and shock have significantly higher mortality. We should be aware of the increasing incidence of monomicrobial NF and higher mortality rates of Gram-negative pathogens in the warm coastal area. LRINEC score is not a suitable diagnostic indicator for V. vulnificus NF, which is more rapidly progressive and fulminant than MRSA NF. NF needed team works by early suspicion, immediate surgical intervention and aggressive care, which can successfully decrease mortality.
Topics: Fasciitis, Necrotizing; Female; Hospitals; Humans; Male; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus; Prospective Studies; Retrospective Studies; Staphylococcus aureus; Vibrio Infections; Vibrio vulnificus
PubMed: 34372768
DOI: 10.1186/s12879-021-06518-5 -
International Journal of Molecular... May 2020populates coastal waters around the world, where it exists freely or becomes concentrated in filter feeding mollusks. It also causes rapid and life-threatening sepsis... (Review)
Review
populates coastal waters around the world, where it exists freely or becomes concentrated in filter feeding mollusks. It also causes rapid and life-threatening sepsis and wound infections in humans. Of its many virulence factors, it is the capsule, composed of capsular polysaccharide (CPS), that plays a critical role in evasion of the host innate immune system by conferring antiphagocytic ability and resistance to complement-mediated killing. CPS may also provoke a portion of the host inflammatory cytokine response to this bacterium. CPS production is biochemically and genetically diverse among strains of , and the carbohydrate diversity of CPS is likely affected by horizontal gene transfer events that result in new combinations of biosynthetic genes. Phase variation between virulent encapsulated opaque colonial variants and attenuated translucent colonial variants, which have little or no CPS, is a common phenotype among strains of this species. One mechanism for generating acapsular variants likely involves homologous recombination between repeat sequences flanking the phosphatase gene within the Group 1 CPS biosynthetic and transport operon. A considerable number of environmental, genetic, and regulatory factors have now been identified that affect CPS gene expression and CPS production in this pathogen.
Topics: Antigens, Bacterial; Bacterial Capsules; Gene Expression; Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; Humans; Operon; Phenotype; Polysaccharides, Bacterial; Structure-Activity Relationship; Vibrio Infections; Vibrio vulnificus; Virulence; Virulence Factors
PubMed: 32380667
DOI: 10.3390/ijms21093259 -
BMC Microbiology Aug 2022Vibrio vulnificus is a pathogenic bacterium that causes disease in marine fish, affecting fish farming and human health worldwide. In May 2021, in the Bohai Bay region,...
Vibrio vulnificus is a pathogenic bacterium that causes disease in marine fish, affecting fish farming and human health worldwide. In May 2021, in the Bohai Bay region, a disease broke out in commercially farmed pearl gentian grouper (♀Epinephelus fuscoguttatus × ♂Epinephelus lanceolatus), causing huge economic losses. The diseased fish had skin lesions, water accumulation in their abdomens, and showed tissue and organ damage. V. vulnificus biotype 2 has been reported in eels and other marine fish, but it is less reported in pearl gentian grouper. In this study, the pathogenic strain isolated from diseased fish was identified as V. vulnificus EPL 0201 biotype 2 on the basis of physiological and biochemical characteristics and the results of 16S rRNA gene and gyrB sequencing, virulence gene detection, and recursive infection experiments. To gain a comprehensive understanding of the pathogenicity and drug resistance of this strain, whole-genome sequencing was performed. Whole-genome analysis showed that the gene map of this strain was complete. The Virulence Factor Database annotation results showed that this strain had the key virulence factor genes vvhA and rtxA, which cause host disease. In addition, this strain had genes conferring resistance against cephalosporins, aminoglycosides, tetracyclines, and sulfonamides. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing confirmed the presence of these resistance genes identified in the genome. The results of this study show that V. vulnificus EPL 0201 biotype 2 is a multi-drug resistant strain with high pathogenicity.
Topics: Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Bass; Eels; Humans; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; Vibrio; Vibrio Infections; Vibrio vulnificus; Virulence Factors
PubMed: 35974308
DOI: 10.1186/s12866-022-02610-1 -
MBio Jul 2020The increase in prevalence and severity of coral disease outbreaks produced by pathogens, and related to global warming, has seriously impacted reef-building corals...
The increase in prevalence and severity of coral disease outbreaks produced by pathogens, and related to global warming, has seriously impacted reef-building corals throughout the oceans. The coral has been used as a model system to study coral bleaching produced by infection. Previous data demonstrated that when two coral pathogens ( and ) simultaneously infected the coral , their pathogenicity was greater than when each bacterium was infected separately. Here, to understand the mechanisms underlying this synergistic effect, transcriptomic analyses of monocultures and cocultures as well as experimental infection experiments were performed. Our results revealed that the interaction between the two vibrios under culture conditions overexpressed virulence factor genes (e.g., those encoding siderophores, the type VI secretion system, and toxins, among others). Moreover, under these conditions, vibrios were also more likely to form biofilms or become motile through induction of lateral flagella. All these changes that occur as a physiological response to the presence of a competing species could favor the colonization of the host when they are present in a mixed population. Additionally, during coral experimental infections, we showed that exposure of corals to molecules released during and coculture induced changes in the coral microbiome that favored damage to coral tissue and increased the production of lyso-platelet activating factor. Therefore, we propose that competition sensing, defined as the physiological response to detection of harm or to the presence of a competing species, enhances the ability of coral pathogens to invade their host and cause tissue necrosis. and are important coral pathogens capable of inducing serious coral damage, which increases severely when they infect the host simultaneously. This has consequences related to the dispersion of these pathogens among different locations that could enhance deleterious effects on coral reefs. However, the mechanisms underlying this synergistic interaction are unknown. The work described here provides a new perspective on the complex interactions among these two coral pathogens, suggesting that coral infection could be a collateral effect of interspecific competition. Major implications of this work are that (i) virulence mechanisms are activated in the absence of the host as a response to interspecific competition and (ii) release of molecules by coral pathogens produces changes in the coral microbiome that favor the pathogenic potential of the entire community. Thus, our results highlight that social cues and competition sensing are crucial determinants of development of coral diseases.
Topics: Animals; Anthozoa; Coral Reefs; Gene Expression Profiling; Global Warming; Host Microbial Interactions; Microbial Interactions; Seawater; Temperature; Vibrio; Vibrio Infections; Virulence
PubMed: 32694137
DOI: 10.1128/mBio.00201-20 -
Biomedical Journal 2015Vibrio vulnificus related necrotizing fasciitis is a fatal, rapidly progressive soft-tissue infection. Necrotizing fasciitis caused by Klebsiella pneumoniae is rare,...
BACKGROUND
Vibrio vulnificus related necrotizing fasciitis is a fatal, rapidly progressive soft-tissue infection. Necrotizing fasciitis caused by Klebsiella pneumoniae is rare, which is indistinguishable from V. vulnificus infection in the emergency room. The purpose of this study was to compare the clinical characteristics and outcome between these two pathogens in diabetic patients.
METHODS
Thirty diabetic patients were retrospectively reviewed over an 8-year period. Necrotizing fasciitis caused by V. vulnificus was found in 19 patients and by K. pneumoniae in 11 patients. The demographic, clinical, and laboratory characteristics, and the outcome between diabetic patients with V. vulnificus and K. pneumoniae infections were compared.
RESULTS
Two patients in the V. vulnificus group (10.5%) and three patients in the K. pneumoniae group (27.3%) died. Fourteen patients in the V. vulnificus group (73.6%) had a history of exposure to seawater or raw seafood, and eight patients in the K. pneumoniae group (72.8%) had abrasions or chronic ulcers over the site of infection. We found that the time interval between onset of illness and presentation to the hospital was significantly shorter in the V. vulnificus group than in the K. pneumoniae group (2.47 days vs. 5.45 days, p < 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS
The exposure history and the time from exposure to hospital presentation with severe sepsis syndromes should alert clinicians to distinguish between necrotizing soft-tissue infections with V. vulnificus (contact with seawater or raw seafood) and K. pneumoniae (abrasions or chronic ulcers) in diabetic patients. Infection with V. vulnificus progresses more rapidly than infection with K. pneumoniae during the initial clinical course.
Topics: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Diabetes Complications; Diabetes Mellitus; Fasciitis, Necrotizing; Female; Humans; Klebsiella Infections; Klebsiella pneumoniae; Male; Middle Aged; Retrospective Studies; Sepsis; Vibrio Infections; Vibrio vulnificus
PubMed: 25179718
DOI: 10.4103/2319-4170.137767