• See Also
  1. Food-borne Diarrheal Infection
  2. Vibrionaceae
  3. Cholera
  • Epidemiology
  1. Incidence (U.S.)
    1. Vibrio parahaemolyticus causes 35,000 Gastroenteritis cases/year
    2. Results in 100 hospitalizations and 4 deaths (0.011 mortality) per year
    3. In contrast, Vibrio parahaemolyticus is the most common cause of Food Poisoning in Japan
  • Pathophysiology
  1. Characteristics
    1. Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a facultative Anaerobic Gram Negative Rod in Vibrionaceae family
    2. All Vibrio genus Bacteria are curved (crescent shaped) and motile with a single polar flagellum
    3. Vibrio parahaemolyticus grows best in warm waters, but outbreaks have occurred in Alaska
    4. Other species with similar presentations to Vibrio parahaemolyticus Gastroenteritis
      1. Vibrio fluvialis
      2. Vibrio mimicus
      3. Non-toxigenic Vibrio Cholerae
        1. Contrast with toxigenic Vibrio Cholerae which causes profuse, life threatening Diarrhea (Cholera)
  2. VIrulence Factors
    1. Thermostable Direct Hemolysin (TDH)
      1. TDH is a pore-forming toxin responsible for the clinical manifestations of V. parahaemolyticus Gastroenteritis
      2. TDH is found in most pathogenic strains of Vibrio parahaemolyticus (but only in 2-3% of natural sources)
  • Findings
  • Presentations
  1. Wound Infection (from Marine Trauma)
    1. See Marine Trauma
    2. See Cellulitis
  2. Food Poisoning
    1. See Food-borne Diarrheal Infection
    2. Sources
      1. Shellfish or raw seafood (esp. mussels)
    3. Incubation Period 4 to 96 hours (mean 17 hours)
    4. Course is typically self-limited Gastroenteritis (except for Immunocompromised patients)
  3. Sepsis
    1. Rare and typically limited to Immunocompromised patients
    2. Risk Factors
      1. Liver disease
      2. Diabetes Mellitus
      3. Alcoholism
  • Symptoms
  1. Low-grade fever
  2. Nausea and Vomiting
  3. Diarrhea
  4. Abdominal Pain
  • Labs
  1. Stool Culture
    1. Grows well on Thiosulfate Citrate Bile-Salt Sucrose (TCBS) Media
  • Management
  1. See Acute Diarrhea
  2. Supportive Care
    1. Oral Rehydration
  3. Antibiotics may be considered in more severe cases (see Sepsis risk factors above)
    1. Doxycycline
    2. Minocycline
  • References
  1. Rezny (2025) Vibrio parahaemolyticus Infection, StatPearls +PMID: 29083695 [PubMed]
    1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK459164/