Hemagglutination and adhesiveness of epidemiologically distinct strains of Vibrio parahaemolyticus.

Twelve strains of Vibrio parahaemolyticus from four epidemiologically distinct groups were examined for their ability to hemagglutinate human, bovine, chicken, guinea pig, and rabbit erythrocytes and to adhere to human buccal mucosal epithelial cells in the presence and absence of mannose. Four of six Kanagawa-positive but none of six Kanagawa-negative strains showed mannose-sensitive hemagglutination with erythrocytes of rabbits and of one or more additional species. Mannose-resistant hemagglutination was shown by one strain in each group with no apparent relationship to strain source or hemolytic capability. All strains adhered to human buccal mucosal cells, with but a single strain showing significant difference in adherence at the alpha = 0.05 level. The adherence pattern had no relationship to the four epidemiological groups. Although adhesive processes may well be involved in disease caused by V. parahaemolyticus, our results do not support a role for adherence as a predictor of pathogenicity.