Combined TCBS and CHROMagar Analyses Allow for Basic Identification of <i>Vibrio vulnificus</i> within a 48 h Incubation Period in the Coastal Baltic Sea

oleh: Conor Christopher Glackin, Susann Dupke, Thota Sharath Chandra, David Riedinger, Matthias Labrenz

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2024-03-01

Deskripsi

With rising infection rates in recent years, <i>Vibrio vulnificus</i> poses an increasing threat to public safety in the coastal brackish Baltic Sea. It is therefore important to monitor this organism and assess the <i>V. vulnificus</i> infection risk on a more regular basis. However, as the coastline of the Baltic Sea is 8000 km long and shared by nine nations, a convenient, fast, inexpensive, yet efficient <i>V. vulnificus</i> identification method is essential. We evaluated the effectiveness of a two-step agar-based approach consisting of successive <i>Vibrio</i> isolation and cultivation on thiosulphate-citrate-bile salt sucrose (TCBS) agar and CHROMagarâ„¢ <i>Vibrio</i> for <i>V. vulnificus</i> in comparison with <i>V. cholerae</i>, <i>V. parahaemolyticus</i>, and <i>V. alginolyticus</i>. Our study contains isolates from water and sediment across a broad expanse of the Baltic Sea including 13 locations and two different summers, the time of year during which <i>Vibrio</i> infections are usually much more frequent. Confirmation of isolate species identity was carried out using molecular analyses. The two-step agar plating method performed well across different locations and timeframes in correctly identifying <i>V. vulnificus</i> by more than 80%, but the sensitivity in other <i>Vibrio</i> species varied. Thus, our approach yielded promising results as a potential tool for early <i>V. vulnificus</i> detection across a broad timeframe and transect of the Baltic Sea and potentially other brackish environments.