Aeromonas andPlesiomonas-enteric infections and fecal carriage

Population dynamics of Aeromonas spp. in an urban river watershed

Density of Aeromonas spp. at one site in the Buffalo River and at four sites on its upstream tributaries was followed from June 1992-June 1993. Membrane filtration counts of Aeromonas during the summer ranged between 18 and 4000 ml-1, which were one to two logs higher than faecal coliform and faecal streptococci densities. Aeromonas spp. in the Buffalo River, and faecal coliforms, faecal streptococci, and the heterotrophic plate count throughout the watershed, increased by approximately one log during summer rainstorms. However, Aeromonas spp. increased only by a factor of two during rainstorms at the upstream sites. Aeromonas spp. showed a strong positive correlation with both indicator bacteria and total suspended solids at the upstream sites during the summer but not the winter. Correlations between Aeromonas and indicator bacteria remained strong in the Buffalo River during the winter, signifying that different conditions exist in the Buffalo River and its upstream tributaries. The strong correlation between Aeromonas spp. and indicator bacteria in the Buffalo River suggest that, in the absence of media capable of the quantitative recovery of potentially pathogenic aeromonads, standard faecal coliform analyses may adequately assess public health risks from Aeromonas spp. in an urban river used for recreational purposes.

Susceptibilities of motile Aeromonas sp. to antimicrobial agents

Resistance to antimicrobial agents of 106 isolates of motile Aeromonas sp. was characterized. The results indicated that in vitro susceptibilities among the three species of the motile Aeromonas sp. were similar, and only the distribution of susceptibility to cephalothin was different. The percentage of resistance of A. sobria strains was lower than the percentage of the resistant strains of A. hydrophila and A. caviae. All of the isolates were susceptible to kanamycin, nalidixic acid, tobramycin, amikacin, netilmicin, cefuroxime, ceftriaxone, cefoperazone and cefotaxime. Three of the tested strains (two A. hydrophila and one A. caviae) transferred resistance plasmids to the Aeromonas hydrophila recipient.

[The occurrence of Escherichia coli, Aeromonas hydrophila, Plesiomonas shigelloides and Clostridium perfringens in the intestinal flora of gray herons (Ardea cinerea)]

The flora of the large intestine of 92 grey herons was examined for the frequency of aerobic and microaerobic growing bacteria. Clostridium perfringens, Aeromonas hydrophila, Plesiomonas shigelloides and E. coli were isolated from 55%, 48%, 14% and 35% of the birds, respectively. It could be demonstrated that the findings of these bacteria in the intestinal flora are depending on the age of the birds. The percentage of carriers of Clostridium perfringens, Aeromonas hydrophila and Plesiomonas shigelloides was highest in nestlings younger than 18 days, less high in older nestlings and lowest in adult grey herons. Contrary to those bacteria, E. coli was found more often in the intestinal flora at increasing age of the birds. Salmonella spp. were isolated from 6 birds. Two birds yielded positive for Yersinia enterocolitica and Campylobacter spp., respectively. Other aerobic and microaerobic bacteria play a less significant role as part of the intestinal flora.