Incidence of Arcobacter spp. in fresh seafood from retail markets in Mumbai, India

Abstract

The occurrence of Campylobacter -like bacteria in fresh fish sold in retail markets of Mumbai was studied. Microaerophilic bacteria isolated following enrichment in Bolton broth and selective plating on Preston blood agar were subjected to biochemical identification followed by polymerase chain reaction to detect Campylobacter , Arcobacter and Helicobacter genera. Arcobacter spp. was isolated from 10 (25 %) of the 40 seafood samples analysed. Based on the comparison of partial 16S rDNA gene sequence, the Arcobacter isolates of this study were identified as Arcobacter butzleri , A. skirrowii and A. cibarius , with A. butzleri being the predominant species. The presence of arcobacter represents a health risk and requires further study to determine the sources of contamination of seafood and the pathogenic potential of Arcobacter spp.