Advances in science and risk assessment tools for Vibrio parahaemolyticus and V. vulnificus associated with seafood. Meeting report

Globally, the bacterial species V. parahaemolyticus, V. cholerae and V. vulnificus represent important human pathogens associated with the consumption of seafood. In response to the requests for scientific advice from Codex Committee on Food Hygiene (CCFH), risk assessments for the pathogens V. vulnificus, V. cholerae, V. parahaemolyticus and guidance on methods for the detection of Vibrio spp. in seafood have been conducted and published previously by FAO/WHO Joint Expert Meeting on Microbiological Risk Assessment (JEMRA) (e.g. the 2005 Risk assessment of V. vulnificus in raw oysters (VVRA) and the 2011 Risk assessment of V. parahaemolyticus in seafood (FAO/WHO, 2005a, 2011). In order to provide an update on the state-of-the-art advice regarding risk assessment for V. parahaemolyticus and V. vulnificus in seafood, an expert meeting was convened at Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), Weymouth, the United Kingdom, on 13-15 May 2019. This report is the output of that expert meeting. Raw shellfish products such as oysters and clams are the most common foodborne source of vibriosis; thus this document outlines key areas where recent risk assessment has been carried out with regards to assessing, understanding and reducing potential human health risks in these food commodities. Experts reviewed the draft outputs of the expert meeting in 2010 on the risk assessment tools for V. parahaemolyticus and V. vulnificus associated with seafood. It was agreed that the basic information of pathogenicity (including virulence markers), major factors relevant to the fate of V. parahaemolyticus and V. vulnificus (water temperature and salinity) and other main contents had not changed substantially; however, several new models and methods have become available in the last decade which were worthy of inclusion. In addition, several new developments were discussed, including the emergence of highly pathogenic strains of V. parahaemolyticus, as well as the pandemic spread of associated infections which ...