Prevalence of Aeromonas spp. Infection in Pediatric Patients Hospitalized with Gastroenteritis in Latvia between 2020 and 2021

Abstract

Purpose: Aeromonas species are emerging human enteric pathogens. However, there is no systematic analysis of Aeromonas infection in the pediatric population in Latvia. The aim of the study was to describe potential sources, prevalence of infection, associated virulence factors and antimicrobial resistance of Aeromonas spp. isolated from fecal samples. Methods: Stool samples (n = 1360) were obtained from the Children’s Clinical University Hospital between 2020 and 2021. The target population was pediatric patients, 0 to 18 years of age, with a preliminary diagnosis of gastroenteritis. Identification was performed by Maldi-TOF, antimicrobial resistance by Vitek2 and 9 virulence factors by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results: Aeromonas spp. were isolated in 50 stool samples; positive findings made up 3.6% of all study cases and included four species: A. hydrophila, A. caviae, A. veronii, and A. eucrenophila. In 42% of the samples, Aeromonas spp. appeared alongside the other significant pathogens: Campylobacter jejuni, Salmonella Enteritidis, Salmonella Typhimurium, Yersinia enterocolitica, norovirus, adenovirus, and rotavirus. The study population positive for Aeromonas spp. infection contained 28 male (56%) and 22 female (44%) patients; median age was 4.56 years. The most common symptoms were: diarrhea, blood in stool, vomiting, abdominal pain, and fever. Aside from expected natural resistance, no significant antibacterial resistance was detected. The presence of multiple virulence genes was noticed in all isolates. No statistically significant correlation was found between the virulence patterns, bacterial species, and the intensity of clinical symptoms. Discussion: According to the clinical data and the results of this study Aeromonas spp. has an important role in pediatric practice and requires appropriate attention and monitoring.

Cross-sectional analysis of risk factors associated with Mugil cephalus in retail fish markets concerning methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Aeromonas hydrophila

“…Men had a higher prevalence of Aeromonas spp., A. hydrophila, and MRSA than women, with no significant differences. These findings corresponded with those of Grave et al (2022), who found that men were more likely to be infected with Aeromonas (56%) than women (44%). MRSA colonization rates in men are greater than in women, according to Liu et al (2015).…”

Interactions between Aeromonas caviae and Yersinia enterocolitica isolated from a case of diarrhea: evaluation of antimicrobial susceptibility and immune response of infected macrophages

“…In a study conducted in Australia, Aeromonas was the only enteropathogen in 1755 (82.3%) of the patients and out of the 377 patients that showed a mixed infection with another enterobacteria only 6 patients (1.4%) showed a coinfection with Yersinia ( Yuwono et al, 2021 ). In another study performed, in Latvia, by Grave et al (2022) about the prevalence of Aeromonas in a hospitalized pediatric population with gastroenteritis, 3 patients (6%) were affected by a co-infection of Aeromonas and Y. enterocolitica . In addition, from the unpublished data of the Ph.D. thesis of Latif (2015) only in one of the 409 patients studied a co-infection of Aeromonas caviae and Y. enterocolitica was observed.…”

“…and Yersinia spp. in fecal samples are rarely reported ( Latif, 2015 ; Hering et al, 2016 ; Nesbakken, 2021 ; Grave et al, 2022 ). In a study conducted in Australia, Aeromonas was the only enteropathogen in 1755 (82.3%) of the patients and out of the 377 patients that showed a mixed infection with another enterobacteria only 6 patients (1.4%) showed a coinfection with Yersinia ( Yuwono et al, 2021 ).…”

Association Between Antimicrobial Resistance and Biofilm Production of Aeromonas hydrophila Isolated from Beef and Mutton in Duhok Abattoir

“…Aeromonas hydrophila is a widely existing motile [1], aerobic, Gram negative, mesophilic bacteria, positive for oxidase-and catalase [2], belonging to Aeromonadaceae family [3]. These bacteria can grow and produce toxins at a wide range of temperatures °C [4] indicating that storing food at refrigeration seems to be ineffective to control these pathogens [5] and due to their capability to grow in refrigerated food [6] they pose a serious risk to people safety and health [7,8]. Aeromonas spp.…”