en Fish processing Fish processing پژوهشي Orginal research papers <p><em><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span calibri="" style="font-family:"><span style="color:black">Vibrio parahaemolyticus</span></span></span></em><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span calibri="" style="font-family:"><span style="color:black">, autochthonous to marine and estuarine environment, is responsible for foodborne outbreaks associated with seafood. In the present study<em>, </em>a total of 52 <em>V. parahaemolyticus</em></span></span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span calibri="" style="font-family:"><span style="color:black"> strains </span></span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span calibri="" style="font-family:"><span style="color:black">isolated </span></span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span calibri="" style="font-family:"><span style="color:black">from various food contact surfaces in seafood pre-processing units located in Cochin</span></span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span calibri="" style="font-family:"><span style="color:black"> were screened for antimicrobial resistance, virulence and biofilm forming capability as part of risk assessment. Multidrug resistance (MDR) was detected in 94.23% of the strains with higher resistance to ampicillin and colistin. Virulence related <em>trh</em> and <em>tdh</em> genes were present in 30.76% and 3.84% of the isolates, respectively. Among the <em>T3SS</em> genes, <em>T3SS1</em> and <em>T3SS2&beta; </em>were present in 75% and 23.07% of the isolates and none of them harboured <em>T3SS2&alpha;</em> genes. Among the strains, 86.54% of them were biofilm producers. <em>V. parahaemolyticus</em> showed significantly (<em>p</em><0.05) moderate positive correlations (0.4<r<0.6) amp="" and="" antimicrobial="" as="" belonging="" between="" cl="" classes="" different="" pairs="" such="" to=""></r<0.6)></span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span calibri="" style="font-family:"><span style="color:black">the presence of biofilm-forming MDR </span></span></span><em><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span calibri="" style="font-family:"><span style="color:black">V. parahaemolyticus</span></span></span></em><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span calibri="" style="font-family:"><span style="color:black"> strains with virulence potential on food contact surfaces, thereby emphasizes the need for continuous monitoring of foodborne pathogens </span></span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span calibri="" style="font-family:"><span style="color:black">and for improving seafood safety in food processing facilities and retail environments.</span></span></span></span></p> Antibiotic resistance, Biofilm formation, Food contact surface, MDR, Seafood safety, T3SS systems, Vibrio parahaemolyticus 435 453 http://jifro.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-4758-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 B. Francis binsfrans86@gmail.com 100319475328460055191 100319475328460055191 No Cochin University of Science and Technology R. Silvester sanasilvester@gmail.com 100319475328460055192 100319475328460055192 No Bangor University A.C. Antony allyjoemon@gmail.com 100319475328460055193 100319475328460055193 No MG University, Kottayam S. Sudha sudhaunnithan@gmail.com 100319475328460055194 100319475328460055194 No Cochin University of Science and Technology K.J. Joseph 100319475328460055195 100319475328460055195 No Cochin University of Science and Technology A.A.M. Hatha mohamedhatha@gmail.com 100319475328460055196 100319475328460055196 Yes Cochin University of Science and Technology