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Microorganisms
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Seafood-Borne Pathogens
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Seafood-Borne Pathogens

A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Microbiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2024) | Viewed by 12120

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Anne Brisabois

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES), Lyon, France
Interests: foodborne pathogens; molecular characterization; antimicrobial resistance; food and seafood safety
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Over the last few decades, consumption of seafood has significantly increased worldwide. Seafood products are considered a healthy and nutritious choice and a source of omega-3 fatty acid, vitamin D, selenium. and iodine. Nevertheless, foodborne diseases or outbreaks associated with seafood consumption have been reported around the world. Therefore, producing safe products along the entire seafood chain represents one of the main public health challenges, and mitigation and control measures have to be implemented according to the sector of seafood production, the nature of seafood (including several fish species, shellfish, and crustaceans), farming methods, retail processes, and consumption. Along these several steps, different microbiological hazards may include pathogenic bacteria such as human pathogenic Vibrio species, Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Clostridium botulinum, or Aeromonas spp., viruses such as Norovirus and Hepatitis A virus, as well as zoonotic parasites such as Anisakidae. Moreover, marine biotoxins as well as histamine represent an additional threat of food poisoning associated with specific fish. Other risk factors of seafood contamination may be considered, such as environmental ecosystems as a source of pathogens in marine products. Finally, consumption modes of seafood and the trend of people eating raw or undercooked seafood products may be an additional risk.

In this Special Issue of Microorganisms, we invite you to submit contributions concerning any aspects related to the detection, risk analysis, and control of seafood-borne pathogens (bacteria, viruses, parasites) and other unexpected contaminants such as marine biotoxins or histamine, throughout all the steps of the seafood chain, from farming, processing, and harvesting to distribution, both in the fisheries sector and in aquaculture production. New, effective control systems and mitigation procedures based on risk assessment are expected depending on the type of processing and seafood products. Further, seafood-borne diseases and description and management of outbreaks may be presented in this Special Issue, and the characteristics of human and seafood pathogen isolates are expected using reliable qualitative and quantitative methods, such as molecular-based diagnostic tools.

Dr. Anne Brisabois
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Microorganisms is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 1267 KiB  
Article
Molecular Identification and Subtype Analysis of Blastocystis sp. Isolates from Wild Mussels (Mytilus edulis) in Northern France
by Manon Ryckman, Nausicaa Gantois, Ruben Garcia Dominguez, Jeremy Desramaut, Luen-Luen Li, Gaël Even, Christophe Audebert, Damien Paul Devos, Magali Chabé, Gabriela Certad, Sébastien Monchy and Eric Viscogliosi
Microorganisms 2024, 12(4), 710; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12040710 - 30 Mar 2024
Viewed by 640
Abstract
Blastocystis sp. is the most common single-celled eukaryote colonizing the human gastrointestinal tract worldwide. Because of the proven zoonotic potential of this protozoan, sustained research is therefore focused on identifying various reservoirs of transmission to humans, and in particular animal sources. Numerous groups [...] Read more.
Blastocystis sp. is the most common single-celled eukaryote colonizing the human gastrointestinal tract worldwide. Because of the proven zoonotic potential of this protozoan, sustained research is therefore focused on identifying various reservoirs of transmission to humans, and in particular animal sources. Numerous groups of animals are considered to be such reservoirs due to their handling or consumption. However, some of them, including mollusks, remain underexplored. Therefore, a molecular epidemiological survey conducted in wild mussels was carried out in Northern France (Hauts-de-France region) to evaluate the frequency and subtypes (STs) distribution of Blastocystis sp. in these bivalve mollusks. For this purpose, 100 mussels (Mytilus edulis) were randomly collected in two sampling sites (Wimereux and Dannes) located in the vicinity of Boulogne-sur-Mer. The gills and gastrointestinal tract of each mussel were screened for the presence of Blastocystis sp. by real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assay followed by direct sequencing of positive PCR products and subtyping through phylogenetic analysis. In parallel, sequences of potential representative Blastocystis sp. isolates that were previously obtained from temporal surveys of seawater samples at marine stations offshore of Wimereux were integrated in the present analysis. By taking into account the qPCR results from all mussels, the overall prevalence of the parasite was shown to reach 62.0%. In total, more than 55% of the positive samples presented mixed infections. In the remaining mussel samples with a single sequence, various STs including ST3, ST7, ST14, ST23, ST26 and ST44 were reported with varying frequencies. Such distribution of STs coupled with the absence of a predominant ST specific to these bivalves strongly suggested that mussels might not be natural hosts of Blastocystis sp. and might rather be carriers of parasite isolates from both human and animal (bovid and birds) waste. These data from mussels together with the molecular identification of isolates from marine stations were subsequently discussed along with the local geographical context in order to clarify the circulation of this protozoan in this area. The identification of human and animal STs of Blastocystis sp. in mussels emphasized the active circulation of this protozoan in mollusks and suggested a significant environmental contamination of fecal origin. This study has provided new insights into the host/carrier range and transmission of Blastocystis sp. and emphasized its potential as an effective sentinel species for water quality and environmental contamination. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Seafood-Borne Pathogens)
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14 pages, 1027 KiB  
Article
Pilot Scale Assessment of High-Pressure Processing (HPP) to Enhance Microbiological Quality and Shelf Life of Fresh Ready-to-Eat (RTE) Blue Crab Meat
by Olivia Gilstrap, Chengchu Liu, Caleb Nindo and Salina Parveen
Microorganisms 2023, 11(12), 2909; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11122909 - 02 Dec 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1009
Abstract
Blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) is a highly valuable wild fishery species of crab native to the waters of the western Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. The annual commercial production of live blue crabs is approximately 50,000 metric tons with [...] Read more.
Blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) is a highly valuable wild fishery species of crab native to the waters of the western Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. The annual commercial production of live blue crabs is approximately 50,000 metric tons with a dockside value of USD 200 million. Presently the US blue crab processing industry sells crab meat in three basic forms: fresh crab meat, pasteurized crab meat, and frozen crab meat. By far “Fresh” is the most desirable form of crab meat. However, fresh crab meat has a limited shelf life. This study evaluated the effects of high-pressure processing (HPP) on enhancing the microbiological quality and shelf life of blue crab meat. Live blue crabs were pressure-cooked in a retort (≥115 °C for 4–6 min). The crab meat was handpicked, packed in plastic containers with seals, subjected to HPP treatment, and stored at 4 °C. Container integrity and water leakage issues were examined by observation in addition to weight comparison before and after HPP treatment; the shelf life of crab meat with and without HPP treatments was examined via microbiological tests and sensory evaluations. Results show that polypropylene containers sealed with 10K OTR (oxygen transmission rate) film could withstand high pressure without water leakage issues; HPP treatment at 600 MPa for 3 min could extend the shelf life of fresh, cooked, and handpicked crab meat from 6 days to 18 days based on the strictest APC (aerobic plate account) limit (APC ≤ 100,000 CFU/g). The sensory quality of the HPP-treated crab meat was well accepted throughout the 3-week storage period. The results support the use of HPP as an effective non-thermal processing technology to enhance the microbiological quality and extend the shelf life of fresh RTE blue crab meat. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Seafood-Borne Pathogens)
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21 pages, 2203 KiB  
Article
Predicting the Growth of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in Oysters under Varying Ambient Temperature
by Iker Fernández-Vélez, Gorka Bidegain and Tal Ben-Horin
Microorganisms 2023, 11(5), 1169; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11051169 - 29 Apr 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1635
Abstract
Temperature is a critical factor that influences the proliferation of pathogens in hosts. One example of this is the human pathogen Vibrio parahaemolyticus (V. parahaemolyticus) in oysters. Here, a continuous time model was developed for predicting the growth of Vibrio parahaemolyticus [...] Read more.
Temperature is a critical factor that influences the proliferation of pathogens in hosts. One example of this is the human pathogen Vibrio parahaemolyticus (V. parahaemolyticus) in oysters. Here, a continuous time model was developed for predicting the growth of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in oysters under varying ambient temperature. The model was fit and evaluated against data from previous experiments. Once evaluated, the V. parahaemolyticus dynamics in oysters were estimated at different post-harvest varying temperature scenarios affected by water and air temperature and different ice treatment timing. The model performed adequately under varying temperature, reflecting that (i) increasing temperature, particularly in hot summers, favors a rapid V. parahaemolyticus growth in oysters, resulting in a very high risk of gastroenteritis in humans after consumption of a serving of raw oysters, (ii) pathogen inactivation due to day/night oscillations and, more evidently, due to ice treatments, and (iii) ice treatment is much more effective, limiting the risk of illness when applied immediately onboard compared to dockside. The model resulted in being a promising tool for improving the understanding of the V. parahaemolyticus–oyster system and supporting studies on the public health impact of pathogenic V. parahaemolyticus associated with raw oyster consumption. Although robust validation of the model predictions is needed, the initial results and evaluation showed the potential of the model to be easily modified to match similar systems where the temperature is a critical factor shaping the proliferation of pathogens in hosts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Seafood-Borne Pathogens)
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13 pages, 673 KiB  
Article
Development of an Extraction Method to Detect Hepatitis A Virus, Hepatitis E Virus, and Noroviruses in Fish Products
by Catherine Hennechart-Collette, Océane Dehan, Audrey Fraisse, Sandra Martin-Latil and Sylvie Perelle
Microorganisms 2023, 11(3), 624; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11030624 - 28 Feb 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1854
Abstract
Viruses are a leading cause of foodborne disease worldwide. Hepatitis viruses (hepatitis A (HAV) and hepatitis E (HEV)) and human norovirus are recognized as the main viruses of public health concern in food hygiene. ISO 15216 approved procedures are not validated for detection [...] Read more.
Viruses are a leading cause of foodborne disease worldwide. Hepatitis viruses (hepatitis A (HAV) and hepatitis E (HEV)) and human norovirus are recognized as the main viruses of public health concern in food hygiene. ISO 15216 approved procedures are not validated for detection of HAV and human norovirus in foodstuffs, such as fishes, leading to an inability to ensure the safety of these products. This study aimed to provide a rapid and sensitive method for detecting these targets in fish products. An existing method that includes proteinase K treatment was selected for further validation using artificially contaminated fish products, according to the recent international standard ISO 16140-4. Recovery efficiencies in pure RNA extracts of viruses ranged from 0.2% to 66.2% for HAV, 4.0% to 100.0% for HEV, 2.2% to 100.0% for norovirus GI, and 0.2% to 12.5% for norovirus GII. LOD50 values were between 144 and 8.4 × 104 genome copies/g for HAV and HEV, and 104 and 2.0 × 103 copies/g for norovirus GI and norovirus GII, respectively. LOD95 values were between 3.2 × 103 and 3.6 × 105 genome copies/g for HAV and HEV, and between 8.8 × 103 and 4.4 × 104 genome copies/g for norovirus GI and norovirus GII, respectively. The method developed here was successfully validated in various fish products and can be applied for routine diagnostic needs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Seafood-Borne Pathogens)
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14 pages, 1750 KiB  
Article
Systematic Survey of Vibrio spp. and Salmonella spp. in Bivalve Shellfish in Apulia Region (Italy): Prevalence and Antimicrobial Resistance
by Maria Emanuela Mancini, Alessandra Alessiani, Adelia Donatiello, Antonella Didonna, Luigi D’Attoli, Simona Faleo, Gilda Occhiochiuso, Francesco Carella, Pietro Di Taranto, Lorenzo Pace, Valeria Rondinone, Annita Maria Damato, Rosa Coppola, Carmine Pedarra and Elisa Goffredo
Microorganisms 2023, 11(2), 450; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11020450 - 10 Feb 2023
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1903
Abstract
The emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is increasingly common across the globe and aquatic ecosystems could be considered a reservoir of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. This study aimed to determine prevalence and antibiotic susceptibility of the potential pathogenic bacteria Salmonella spp. and Vibrio spp. in [...] Read more.
The emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is increasingly common across the globe and aquatic ecosystems could be considered a reservoir of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. This study aimed to determine prevalence and antibiotic susceptibility of the potential pathogenic bacteria Salmonella spp. and Vibrio spp. in bivalve molluscs intended for human consumption, collected over a period of 19 months along the northern coast of Apulia region. The AMR profile was also determined in non-pathogenic Vibrio species, common natural inhabitants of seawater and a useful indicator for the surveillance of AMR in the environment. The current study presents data on the AMR of 5 Salmonella and 126 Vibrio isolates by broth microdilution MIC. Multidrug resistance (MDR) was observed in one S. Typhimurium strain towards sulfamethoxazole, trimethoprim, tetracycline, gentamicin, and ampicillin and in 41.3% of the Vibrio strains, mostly towards sulphonamides, penicillin, and cephems. All Vibrio isolates were sensitive to azithromycin, chloramphenicol, tetracycline, amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, gentamicin, streptomycin, amikacin, and levofloxacin. The AMR phenomenon in the investigated area is not highly worrying but not entirely negligible; therefore, in-depth continuous monitoring is suggested. Results concerning the antibiotic agents without available specific clinical breakpoints could be useful to upgrade the MIC distribution for Vibrio spp. but, also, the establishment of interpretative criteria for environmental species is necessary to obtain a more complete view of this issue. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Seafood-Borne Pathogens)
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15 pages, 3829 KiB  
Article
Growth and Volatile Organic Compound Production of Pseudomonas Fish Spoiler Strains on Fish Juice Agar Model Substrate at Different Temperatures
by Foteini F. Parlapani, Dimitrios A. Anagnostopoulos, Evangelia Karamani, Athanasios Mallouchos, Serkos A. Haroutounian and Ioannis S. Boziaris
Microorganisms 2023, 11(1), 189; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11010189 - 12 Jan 2023
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2072
Abstract
Microbial spoilage is the main cause of quality deterioration in seafood. Several strains of psychotropic Pseudomonas have been found to dominate in such products, producing a plethora of volatile organic compounds (VOC). Herein, we investigated the growth of and VOC production by seven [...] Read more.
Microbial spoilage is the main cause of quality deterioration in seafood. Several strains of psychotropic Pseudomonas have been found to dominate in such products, producing a plethora of volatile organic compounds (VOC). Herein, we investigated the growth of and VOC production by seven strains of Pseudomonas associated with spoiled fish after inoculation as single and mixed cultures on model fish substrate and storage at 0, 4 and 8 °C. The results indicated a strain-dependent VOC profile that was also affected by the storage temperature. Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) successfully grouped the strains based on VOC profile at each studied temperature, while some potential Chemical Spoilage Indices (CSI) were revealed. The findings of the present work will contribute to the understanding of the metabolic activity of particular strains of Pseudomonas and to reveal any potential CSI for rapid evaluation of fish spoilage/freshness status. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Seafood-Borne Pathogens)
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Review

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24 pages, 1986 KiB  
Review
A Comprehensive Review for the Surveillance of Human Pathogenic Microorganisms in Shellfish
by Marion Desdouits, Yann Reynaud, Cécile Philippe and Françoise S. Le Guyader
Microorganisms 2023, 11(9), 2218; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11092218 - 31 Aug 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1621
Abstract
Bivalve molluscan shellfish have been consumed for centuries. Being filter feeders, they may bioaccumulate some microorganisms present in coastal water, either naturally or through the discharge of human or animal sewage. Despite regulations set up to avoid microbiological contamination in shellfish, human outbreaks [...] Read more.
Bivalve molluscan shellfish have been consumed for centuries. Being filter feeders, they may bioaccumulate some microorganisms present in coastal water, either naturally or through the discharge of human or animal sewage. Despite regulations set up to avoid microbiological contamination in shellfish, human outbreaks still occur. After providing an overview showing their implication in disease, this review aims to highlight the diversity of the bacteria or enteric viruses detected in shellfish species, including emerging pathogens. After a critical discussion of the available methods and their limitations, we address the interest of technological developments using genomics to anticipate the emergence of pathogens. In the coming years, further research needs to be performed and methods need to be developed in order to design the future of surveillance and to help risk assessment studies, with the ultimate objective of protecting consumers and enhancing the microbial safety of bivalve molluscan shellfish as a healthy food. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Seafood-Borne Pathogens)
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