Spread of Pacific Northwest Vibrio parahaemolyticus Strain

In this letter, the virulent Pacific Northwest clone of Vibrio parahaemolyticus was shown to have spread and caused considerable illness in persons on the Atlantic coasts of the United States and Spain. To the Editor: Globally, Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a leading cause of seafood-associated gastroenteritis. Historically, the V. parahaemolyticus serotypes O4:K12 and O4:KUT, which have been shown to be more virulent than other pathogenic V. parahaemolyticus strains, have been unique to the Pacific Northwest region. 1 These strains, which were first identified in the Pacific Northwest in 1988, caused large U.S. outbreaks in 1997 and 2004. 2 The outbreaks were linked to consumption of Pacific shellfish, but these strains have not been linked to illness or isolated outside the Pacific Northwest until recently. During the summer of 2012, outbreaks of V. parahaemolyticus infection caused . . .