The Emergence of the Genus Comamonas as Important Opportunistic Pathogens

Abstract

Comamonas spp. are non-fermenting Gram-negative bacilli. They were first discovered in 1894, and since then, twenty-four species have been characterized. The natural habitat of these bacteria is soil, wastewater/sludge, fresh water such as ponds and rivers, and the animal intestinal microbiome. They were also isolated from industrial settings, such as activated sludge and polluted soil, and from the hospital environment and clinical samples, such as urine, pus, blood, feces, and kidney. Comamonas spp. are associated with environmental bioremediation and are considered an important environmental bacterium rather than a human pathogen. However, in the 1980s, they became a concern when several human infections associated with these species were reported. Here, the Comamonas genus was examined in terms of its members, identification techniques, and pathogenicity. Seventy-seven infection cases associated with these microorganisms that have been discussed in the literature were identified and investigated in this project. All relevant information regarding year of infection, country of origin, patient information such as age, sex, underlying medical conditions if any, type of infection caused by the Comamonas species, antibiotic susceptibility testing, treatment, and outcomes for the patient were extracted from case reports. The findings suggest that even though Comamonas spp. are thought of as being of low virulence, they have caused harmful health conditions in many healthy individuals and even death in patients with underlying conditions. Antimicrobial treatment of infections associated with these species, in general, was not very difficult; however, it can become an issue in the future because some strains are already resistant to different classes of antibiotics. Therefore, these pathogens should be considered of such importance that they should be included in the hospital screening programs.

Characteristics of endophytic bacteria and active ingredients in the Eucommiae cortex from different origins

“…Comamonas is a group of gram-negative bacteria that is abundant in a variety of environments including soil, plants, and water sources (Hem et al, 2022 ). Although Comamonas is a potentially pathogenic bacterium for humans, studies have shown the role of Comamonas in degrading exogenous pollutants and heavy metal contamination (Ryan et al, 2022 ). For instance, Wang et al ( 2023 ) reported that the co-culture of Comamonas and Enterobacter reduced the accumulation of the heavy metal element Cd in rice.…”

Extra-abdominal infections caused by Comamonas kerstersii: Case report

“…[6] C kerstersii isolates have shown high susceptibility to antibiotics. [2,7,8] Consequently, the management of C kerstersii infections with appropriate antimicrobial therapy often results in favorable clinical outcomes, even in cases of mixed infections [1,5,8] However, in our clinical study, we encountered a serious challenge posed by C Kerstersii. It caused not only intraabdominal infections-acute perforated appendicitis, but also extraabdominal infections-lung infection, which promoted the death of the patient, and urinary tract infection, which presented an extensive drug resistance (XDR) phenotype.…”

“…diverticulosis. [2] 27 C kerstersii strains have also been cultured from human fecal samples, suggesting a possible link with the gastrointestinal tract. [5] The majority of C kerstersii infections appear to be polymicrobial, with 1 case of urinary tract infection being an exception.…”

Microbial Inoculants as Plant Biostimulants: A Review on Risk Status

“…is used as PGPR but also causes diseases in immunocompetent and immunocompromised people such as septicemia, gastroenteritis, and wound infections [ 145 ]. Another potent PGPR, Comamonas spp., is also associated with many life-threatening illnesses such as endocarditis, and septicemia in immunocompetent individuals [ 146 ]. Streptomyes sp.…”