Vibrio parahaemolyticus has emerged as a common foodborne pathogen of global concern. In this study, 108
V. parahaemolyticus isolates that recovered from diarrhea cases (n = 96) and seafood products (n = 12)
in Guangdong Province from 2007 to 2011 were characterized by serotyping, tdh and trh toxin gene detection
and multilocus sequence typing (MLST). The dominant serotypes from the cases were O3:K6, O4:K8 and
O1: KUT (untyped). However, most isolates recovered from seafood products belonged to other serotypes.
None of the isolates carried the trh gene, while the major isolates from the cases were tdh positive. MLST
analysis revealed 31 sequence types (STs); 17 STs were unique in this study. eBURST analysis revealed
four clonal complexes (CC), The majority of the isolates (n = 58, all from cases and tdh+) were grouped
into the CC3, which included O3:K6, O4:K68 and O1:KUT isolates. The CC3 was the most prevalent clonal
complex, and all of the CC3 isolates were recovered from clinical cases of geographically diverse origin.
As to the CC345, which was completely constituted by O4:K8, was another important clonal complex
affecting Guangdong Province. Ongoing surveillance of V. parahaemolyticus in diarrhea patients and
seafood products remains a public health priority for Guangdong Province, China.