Marine sediments were assayed for their concentration of Vibrio spp. and Aeromonas hydrophila over 1 year. During this time period of ten of the currently known pathogenic Vibrio spp. were identified to occur in the marine sediments of Apalachicola Bay. A temporal variation was observed in which A.hydrophila, and to a lesser degree V.fluvialis, were found in the winter months, V.parahaemolyticus and V.vulnificus predominated the spring and summer, with non 0-1 V.cholerae and V.alginolyticus detected in the late summer and fall. These organisms were found in greatest numbers in the top 5 cm of sediment, but were detected down to 15 cm. Epidemiological data revealed a predominance of non 0-1 V.cholerae infections at the time the organisms were observed to flourish in the sediments. / A membrane filter method (the FAST method) has been developed to enumerate pathogenic vibrios extracted from sediments. Aliquots of sediments which were blended in a Waring Blender were collected on a black Nuclepore (0.2 $\mu$m pore) filters and heat fixed. Filters were treated to reduce the non-specific fluorescence of background sediment and allowed to dry. Antibody positive Vibrio cholerae non 0-1 cells appeared as cells surrounded by a fluorescent green halo or band. Detrital and other sediment particles appeared as pale green or could not be seen at all. The FAST procedure can be easily adapted for any pathogenic vibrio for which a specific antibody is available. / In the absence of a species-specific antibody, laboratories rely on conventional biochemical identification methods for genus and species identification. Apalachicola Bay waters and oysters were tested for the presence of Vibrio vulnificus, the most virulent of the pathogenic vibrios, during the time of greatest public health concern. Conventional biochemical identification methods were compared to serological and gene probe analysis for sensitivity in predicting the illness patterns of the same time period. Oyster analyses appear to correlate more closely to the epidemiological data than water analyses. The biochemical identification methods appear to the most conservative for the protection of public health. More critical identification using the serological and gene probe methods appears to be the methods of choice for the regulatory community. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 51-12, Section: B, page: 5745. / Major Professor: Paul A. LaRock. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1990.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_78408 |
| Contributors | Williams, Leslee Ann., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 72 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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