Vibrio (genus)

Vibrio is a genus of facultatively anaerobic, oxidase-positive, Gram-negative bacteria. They are flagellated and in the shape of curved rods. Most species of the genus are pathogenic, although not all to humans, and there can be nonpathogenic strains within a species. Some Vibrio species are important pathogens of fish and crustaceans, which may be opportunistic pathogens in people with skin wounds.

Another classification is whether they are halophilic, require sodium chloride for growth, or are nonhalophilic. The nonhalophilic forms tolerate salt, so a nonpathogenic strain was selected for laboratory quality control of thiosulfate-citrate-bile salts-sucrose (TCBS) culture media selective for pathogenic vibrios.

Human
In man, Vibrio strains can cause potentially fatal gastroenteritis, wound infections, and septicemia.

The epidemic significance of cholera is so great that medical microbiologists split the forms into enteropathogenic V. chlolerae, and the other pathogenic Vibrios. Of the non-cholera forms, in the United States, Vibrio parahaemolyticus is the most frequent source of infection, but Vibrio vulnificus causes 94% of the reported deaths. Since TCBS media are not routinely used for stool cultures, gastroenteritis may be underreported.

Marine life
In a study done in Gudalajara, Mexico, the overall presence of V. parahaemolyticus samples was 45.6%, with 71.4% in fish, 44.0% in oysters, and 27.6% in shrimp.