Prevalence of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in Penaeus Monodon (Fabricius, 1798) from the Douala Coastal Waters of Cameroon: Implication for Food Safety

Seafood constitutes an important food component and a cheap source of protein in developing countries. Shrimps are prone to bacterial contamination in their environment and have been frequently implicated in Vibrio parahaemolyticus infection. Of the 121 Penaeus monodon collected from coastal beaches in Douala, 79(65.3%) were contaminated with Vibrio spp. Presumed Vibrio sp. were identified by standard biochemical tests and further confirmed by API 20E kit. A total of 150 Vibrio parahaemolyticus were isolated from Penaeus monodon and predominated in the gills40%, 22.7% from hepatopancrea and 37.3% from intestines. V. parahaemolyticus was high in Shrimps from Essengue beach (56%). V. parahaemolyticus occurrence was high in the dry season in Youpwe beach (32.6%) while low in Essengue beach (22%). Meanwhile in the wet season Essengue beach recorded high prevalence (32.7%) of V. parahaemolyticus as opposed to 20.7% in Youpwe beach. A high prevalence of haemolytic activity (80.4%) was observed when V. parahaemolyticus was grown on 5% human blood agar. Complete haemolysis predominated with a prevalence of 47.8% while partial haemolysis (32.6%) and nonhaemolysis (19.6%). This study has shown that the Vibrio parahaemolyticus isolated from Penaeus monodon of the Douala coastal waters is pathogenic and can pose a health risk when consumed without proper cooking.