Characterization of Pathogenic Isolated From Fish Aquaculture of the Southwest Coastal Area of Bangladesh.

is a major foodborne pathogen responsible for significant economic losses in aquaculture and a threat to human health. Here, we explored the incidence, virulence potential, and diversity of isolates from aquaculture farms in Bangladesh. We examined a total of 216 water, sediment, (tilapia), (rui), and (shrimp) samples from the aquaculture system where 60.2% (130/216) samples were positive for . Furthermore, we identified 323 strains from contaminated samples, 17 of which were found positive for , a virulence gene. Four isolates out of the 17 obtained were able to accumulate fluid in the rabbit ileal loop assay. The correlation between the contamination of and environmental factors was determined by Pearson correlation. The temperature and salinity were significantly correlated (positive) with the incidence of . Most of the pathogenic isolates (94.1%) were found resistant to ampicillin and amoxicillin. O8: KUT was the predominant serotype of the potentially pathogenic isolates. ERIC-PCR reveals genetic variation and relatedness among the pathogenic isolates. Therefore, this region-specific study establishes the incidence of potential infection with from the consumption of tilapia, rui, and shrimp raised in farms in Satkhira, Bangladesh, and the basis for developing strategies to reduce the risk for diseases and economic burden.