To the Editor.—
Since 1969 Vibrio parahaemolyticus has caused 16 gastroenteritis food-borne outbreaks, with two aboard cruise ships (237:1980, 1977). Isolated cases of V parahaemolyticus gastroenteritis are unusual. One case concerned a man who had eaten exotic Japanese seafood (236:822, 1976).
Report of a Case.—
The day after returning from a trip on one of the Massachusetts Coast islands, a 57-year-old woman had abdominal cramps with severe diarrhea, no vomiting, and no fever. The stools had no blood or mucus. She had eaten seafood, including clams and snails. The stool showed V parahaemolyticus in pure culture on sodium chloride-added xylose lysine deoxycholate agar.1 The V parahaemolyticus antimicrobial susceptibility tests on Mueller-Hinton agar with 1.00% sodium chloride added was sensitive to ampicillin, tetracycline, gentamicin, and chloramphenicol, and resistant to penicillin, carbenicillin, and cephalothin.The patient was treated with ampicillin; V parahaemolyticus disappeared from the stools in six days, and she