Department of Public Health - Acute Communicable Disease Control

Vibriosis

The genus Vibrio consists of Gram-negative, curved, motile rods, and contains about a dozen species known to cause human illness. Transmission is most often through ingestion via a foodborne route, but also from contact between broken skin and contaminated water. Presenting symptoms vary by species and mode of transmission. The Vibrio species of greatest public health importance in the US are: V. vulnificus which causes a primary septicemia and is often associated with oysters harvested in the Gulf of Mexico, and V. parahaemolyticus, which presents as gastrointestinal illness. Cholera, a potentially fatal diarrheal disease caused by V. cholerae serotypes O1 and O139, is rarely imported into the US.

News and Updates

CDC Health Advisory: Severe Vibrio vulnificus Infections in the United States Associated with Warming Coastal Waters (9-1-23)
CDC Health Advisory: Advice for Health Care Providers Treating Patients in or Recently Returned from Hurricane-Affected Areas, Including Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands (10-24-17)
Los Angeles County: Annual Morbidity Reports (2001-2016)
ACDC: A Manual of Departmental Rules, Regulations and Control Procedures (B-73)
LAC Reporting Form: Case Report of Vibriosis
- LAC ACDC's Epidemiologic Case History Forms Web Page

LAC: Reported Cases of Selected Diseases (2011-2016)

LAC: Reported Cases of Selected Diseases (2005-2010)

LAC: Reported Cases of Selected Diseases (1999-2004)

2006 Special Study: Pearls of Sickness: A Multi-State Epidemic of Vibrio Parahaemolyticus Linked to Contaminated Oysters From Washington State
ACDC: Food and Water Safety Page

Additional Resources