CONCORD, N.H. — University of New Hampshire researchers have found a new strain of a disease-causing bacteria thriving along the Atlantic Coast that is sickening seafood lovers who eat contaminated shellfish.
Until Cheryl Whistler and her colleagues made the discovery, it was believed one strain of the bacterial pathogen known as Vibrio parahaemolyticus was causing most illnesses that resulted in diarrhea, vomiting and abdominal pain. Vibrio parahaemolyticus is the leading seafood-transmitted bacterial pathogen in the world with an estimated 45,000 infections in the United States annually.
Whistler is hoping the discover of this new strain ST631 detailed in a Journal of Clinical Microbiology study will give public health agencies along the Atlantic Coast and in Canada the data they need to develop tools to reduce the risk of being exposed to this pathogen.