Sixty Years of Vibrio parahaemolyticus Research

A severe foodborne disease outbreak late in 1950 in Osaka, Japan, led to 20 fatalities among 272 patients, who suffered from acute gastroenteritis, with symptoms that included severe abdominal pain, described by many as a “burning sensation in the stomach,” vomiting, and severe diarrhea. The onset of symptoms was very rapid, within 2 to 6 h in most cases, and autopsies revealed extensive damage to the stomach, other components of the gastrointestinal tract, and other internal organs. Local experts quickly ruled out chemical agents as the cause of this extraordinarily potent, foodborne illness. Experts soon identified the common food source for this outbreak—namely, a small, semidried fish, called shirasu. Although available shirasu samples were heavily laden with bacterial contaminants, microbiologist Tsunesaburo Fujino (1907–1992) of nearby Osaka University quickly excluded a series of well-known enteropathogens. However, he also grew frustrated when his early efforts to isolate the mysterious culprit proved unsuccessful.