Dynamics of enteropathogenic bacteria in Asian environment

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We reported frequent infection due to a new clone of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in eight countries and the United States since 1996. It allowed us to use the term "pandemic." We initially defined the pandemic clone by its O3:K6 serovar, but we subsequently established a toxR-targeted PCR method to identify the pandemic clone. Recently, similar to the O3:K6 pandemic clone, serovariants of the pandemic clone have been spreading across the international border. We have been isolating the pandemic strains, including an O1:K25 strain, from the bivalves in southern Thailand since 1998, and we demonstrated strong association between environmental and clinical strains. The results indicated that improperly cooked bivalves are the means of transmission, and it may be the cause of international spread. Economic factor, ability to purchase expensive seafood, was a more important factor of infection than the poor hygienic condition in Vietnam.We demonstrated that first seafood marketed in Malaysia is frequently contaminated with O139 Vibrio cholerae, which indicates that Malaysian environment is contaminated with this microorganism. We also showed an epidemic due to tetracycline-resistant O1 V. cholerae for the first time in southern Thailand.These results suggest human movement in the southern Thailand-Malaysian region needs to be monitored.We reported contamination of the beef imported from India to Malysia and the beef and cattle feces in Thailand by Escherichia coli O157. We also reported distribution of vancomycin-resistant enterococci and Vibrio vulnificus in Malaysian environment.