A Note on the Isolation of the Bacterium Vibrio parahaemolyticus from Estuarine North Carolina

The potentially pathogenic bacterium, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, was isolated from water, sediment, and oyster samples collected from estuarine North Carolina. In October, when water temperatures were 15-18°C, V. parahaemolyticus was still detected in all substrates. However, the organism was detected only in one sediment sample in January when water temperatures were 4-5°C. No correlation was observed between the occurrence of the bacterium and domestic wastewater contamination.