Pathogenic Vibrio, Aeromonas and Arcobacter spp. associated with copepods in the Straits of Messina (Italy).

In aquatic environments bacteria have a strong affinity for a variety of substrates including animal surfaces. The chitinous skeletons of crustaceans are nutrient sources that encourage bacterial attachment and colonization in marine environment (Sieburth, 1975). Bacteria associated with plankton can survive in adverse environmental conditions longer than free-living forms (Carman and Dobbs, 1997). Zooplankton carry a natural commensal microflora attached to external surfaces and in the digestive tract, mainly composed of Vibrio spp. ( [Huq et al., 1983] and [Tamplin et al., 1990]). The interest in the occurrence and distribution of vibrios as free living and zooplankton associated involves ecological and epidemiological aspects. The genus Vibrio currently includes 72 species, among these species Vibrio cholerae, Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Vibrio vulnificus account for the majority of Vibrio infections in humans (Farmer et al., 2003).