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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, December 2000, p. 4621-4625, Vol. 38, No. 12
0095-1137/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Vibrio parahaemolyticus Serovar O3:K6 as Cause of Unusually High Incidence of Food-Borne Disease Outbreaks in Taiwan from 1996 to 1999

Chien-Shun Chiou,1,* Shih-Yuan Hsu,2 Shiou-Ing Chiu,3 Tien-Kuei Wang,3 and Cheng-Shun Chao4

The Third Branch Office, Center for Disease Control, Taichung City 403,1 The Fourth Branch Office, Center for Disease Control, Kaohsiung City 813,2 The Division of Bacterial Diseases, Center for Disease Control, Taipei 115,3 and The Sixth Branch Office, Center for Disease Control, Hualien 970,4 Taiwan

Received 18 May 2000/Returned for modification 5 August 2000/Accepted 13 September 2000

The occurrence of food-borne disease outbreaks in Taiwan increased dramatically in 1996, and the incidence has since remained elevated. This increase in outbreaks is correlated with a high rate of isolation of Vibrio parahaemolyticus, which caused between 61 and 71% of the total outbreaks for the period 1996 to 1999. By serotyping, 40 serovars were identified from 3743 V. parahaemolyticus isolates, of which O3:K6 was the most frequently detected. The O3:K6 serovar could have emerged in Taiwan as early as October 1995 and at that time accounted for only 0.6% of the V. parahaemolyticus infections. This level increased suddenly to 50.1% in 1996 and reached a peak (83.8%) in 1997. Comparison of the outbreak profiles for the etiology groups indicates that the high incidence of food-borne disease outbreaks during 1996 to 1999 can be attributed to the extraordinarily high O3:K6 infections. In 1999, the O3:K6 serovar was still prevalent, and accounted for 61.3% of all V. parahaemolyticus infections. Due to its extraordinarily high infection frequency and its capability to spread globally, this organism needs to be intensively monitored internationally.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: The Third Branch Office, Center for Disease Control, 4F 103 Minchuan Rd., Taichung City 403, Taiwan. Phone: 886-4-2225196. Fax: 886-4-2221917. E-mail: nipmcsc{at}cdc.gov.tw.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, December 2000, p. 4621-4625, Vol. 38, No. 12
0095-1137/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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