The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of environmental factors such as temperature, salinity, turbidity and pH on the growth of pathogenic Vibrios. In this study, we was obtained the samples from 2 different sites of the Incheon coastal area between January 2012 and December 2012. The water temperature in August and September was the high. the Incheon port changes the width of a small, wherease in the case of Hanjin harbor of changes of larger width. Salinity and turbidity showed significant differences, whereas temperature and hydrogen ion concentration was not significant. Pathogenic vibrios was determined using the real-time PCR method. Pathogenic vibrios in the Incheon port and Hanjin harbor were detected in 11 samples (91.67%) and 9 samples (75.0%) of Vibrio cholerae, 7 samples (58.3%) and 6 samples (50.0%) of V. vulnificus, 10 samples (83.3%) and 12 samples (100.0%) of V. parahaemolyticus, respectively. Pathogenic Vibrio bacteria were the highest at 26.8℃ of seawater in August. Quantitative results were the following: 102 cell/㎖ in Vibrio cholerae, 7.876 cell/㎖ in V. vulnificus, and 503.4 cell/㎖ in V. parahaemolyticus, respectively. The enumeration of pathogenic vibrios showed a positive correlation with temperature and pH, but was negatively correlated with salinity and turbidity.

Distribution of pathogenic vibrios in the seawater of live fish tank and effect of environmental factors an their existence were investigated by collecting samples from fish markets and restaurants in 6 different cities. Pathogenic vibrios and coliforms were determined by using the most probable number (MPN) procedure, and aerobic plate count was enumerated by the standard pour plate method. No Vibrio cholerae O1 was detected in all the samples tested. Detection rates of Y. cholerae non-Ol, V. parahaemolyticus and V. vulnificus in all the samples tested were 7.7%, 69.2% and 23.1%, respectively. Water temperature and turbidity of the seawaber measured were higher in the pathogenic vibrios positive samples than in those negative samples. However, higher salinity and pH were shown in the pathogenic vibrios negative samples than in positive samples. The aerobic plate counts and MPN of total and fecal coliforms in the seawater were higher in the presence of pathogenic vibrios than in the absence of pathogenic vibrios. In this study, the presence of pathogenic vibrios in the seawater tested was closely related with other physiochemical parameters and populations of coliforms, indicators for food safety.

Vibrio mimicus is a closely related species with V. cholerae, and has been reported to be associated with gastrointestinal infections. Although extraintestinal infections of these vibrios have also been reported in Japan and Southeast Asia. But little research papers on V. mimicus was reported in Korea. Therefore, we tried to isolate V. mimicus from the environmental sea water from April to July in Pusan, Korea. Among the isolated strains, we selected the strongest hemolytic strain and then named V. mimicus SM-9. In this paper, we checked the antibiotic susceptibility and psychrotrophic characteristics of the isolated strain. Hemolytic activity of the hemolysin produced by the isolated strain was also measured. V. mimicus was not detected from the sea water samples in April and May, but its detection rate was relatively high in June and July in Pusan, Korea. The bacteriological characteristics of V. mimicus SM-9 were Gram-negative rods, motile, oxidase positive, Voges-Proskauer negative and sucrose negative. In 23 kinds of antibiotics susceptibility test, V. mimicus SM-9 showed susceptibility to the most of antibiotics submitted while it was resistive against lincomycin, oxacillin, rifampin and vancomycin. Hemolytic activity of the hemolysin produced by V. mimicus SM-9 was highest in stationary phase of the growth curve in BHI broth at 37℃ and its activity was reached 18 HU per ml of culture supernatant. For checking the psychrotrophic property of V. mimicus SM-9, the decreasing rate of the strain in phosphate buffer solution and yellowtail flesh homogenate was examined during the storage at 4, 0, -4 and -20℃. The decreasing rates of the selected strain stored in phosphate buffer solution were greater than those in fish homogenate. Decreasing rates of V. mimicus SM-9 stored in phosphate buffer solution were not significantly different by the storage temperatures. The viable cell counts of the strain were decreased as 5 log cycles after 120 hours at all the tested temperatures. While decreasing numbers of the strain in fish homogenates were 2-4 log cycles after 120 hours. The decreasing pattern of the strain numbers were very slow after 200 hours at all the stored temperatures.