What is Vibrio parahaemolyticus?
It is a bacterium which belongs to the same family as the one that causes cholera. The bacterium exists in brackish saltwater and inhabits the coast of the USA and Canada, during the summer months it is present in much higher concentrations. How does V. parahaemolyticus cause illness? If you become infected you will most likely have watery diarrhea, accompanied with abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, a high temperature and chills. Symptoms generally appear within 24 hours of ingestion. Most infected people will start getting better after about three days. In very rare cases, an open wound can become infected if exposed to warm seawater. It is a rare disease and tends to hit people with weakened immune systems. Why does the infection happen? Most commonly, people become infected after eating raw or uncooked shellfish, particularly oysters. Is V. parahaemolyticus infection common? It is a common cause of foodborne illness in Asia. It is a less commonly recognized cause of illness in the U
