Community outbreaks of food borne infection with so-called Vibrio furnisii in Japan and the Philippines.

Abstract

Vibrio furnissii is closely related to V. fluvialis but is classified as an independent species; both are halophilic vibrios. V. fluvialis has been increasingly reported as an enteric pathogen but reports of infection with V. furnissii are rare. The authors report 3 related cases of gastroenteritis in June 1987 in Japanese children, characterized by fever, hypogastric pain, profuse watery diarrhoea and leucocytosis occurring within 10-14 h of eating a meal of fish and shellfish. In 2 of these children V. furnissii was demonstrated in the stools without other recognized pathogens, but in the most severely affected case V. parahaemolyticus was isolated in addition. Recovery occurred within a few days in all cases after rehydration and treatment with fosfomycin and latamoxef. V. furnissii was also isolated from rectal swabs taken from 2 of 34 children suffering from diarrhoea in January 1987 in Negros Island of the Philippines. [No mention is made of a search for viral causes of gastroenteritis in either group of children, and no pathogen was isolated from 28 of the 34 Filipino children (although pathogens were isolated in those with most severe symptoms). This result must suggest that in most children symptoms were being caused by unidentified factor/factors which may well have also been important in those excreting the vibrio. Similarly 1 of the 3 Japanese children was found also to be excreting a known enteric pathogen. Concomitant presence of other enteric pathogens has frequently been observed in previous reports. These findings confirm an association between V. furnissii and diarrhoea but not the causal relationship assumed by the authors. Reported enterotoxin production makes this likely, but further reports of illness associated with the isolation of this organism must be awaited before this conclusion can be drawn.]