Vibrio fluvialis is a bacterium that can be found in both seawater and freshwater, and it is responsible for causing gastroenteritis and cholangitis. V. fluvialis bacteremia has rarely been reported. We report a case of V. fluvialis bacteremia due to cholangitis in an immunocompetent adult who was exposed to seawater regularly as a sushi chef. The increased risk of V. fluvialis entry into the body resulting from frequent consumption of raw fish and regular exposure to seawater, bile outflow impairment caused by transient inflammation of the bile duct, and the presence of multiple bile acid resistance-related genes in V. fluvialis may lead to the development of acute cholangitis and subsequent bacteremia in immunocompetent patients.
Keywords: Vibrio fluvialis; bacteremia; bile acid resistance-related genes; cholangitis; immunocompetent.