Aeromonas species are environmental Gram negative bacteria that occasionally can cause human disease. It is a cause of foodborne disease and of traveler's diarrhea.
Food sources include:
(1) raw or uncooked seafood
(2) unwashed and uncooked vegetables
(3) contaminated water
(4) unpasteurized milk
(5) undercooked poultry, beef, or pork
Incubation: 12 to 48 hours
Clinical features:
(1) diarrhea which may be watery
(2) occasionally may cause a febrile illness with bloody diarrhea (colitis), which may be chronic
(3) sepsis
More severe disease is associated with:
(1) production of enterotoxins and other virulence factors
(2) defects in host defenses
It can occur in outbreaks.
Diagnosis:
(1) positive culture from implicated food
(2) positive culture from the patient
(3) positive molecular test
