Aeromonas Isolates from Human Diarrheic Stool and Groundwater Compared by Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis

• Main Authors: Mark A. Borchardt, Mary E. Stemper, Jon H. Standridge
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2003-02-01
• Series: Emerging Infectious Diseases
• Subjects: diarrhea; drinking; water microbiology; electrophoresis; gel; pulsed-field
• Online Access: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/9/2/02-0031_article

Gastrointestinal infections of Aeromonas species are generally considered waterborne; for this reason, Aeromonas hydrophila has been placed on the United States Environmental Protection Agency Contaminant Candidate List of emerging pathogens in drinking water. In this study, we compared pulsed-field gel electrophoresis patterns of Aeromonas isolates from stool specimens of patients with diarrhea with Aeromonas isolates from patients’ drinking water. Among 2,565 diarrheic stool specimens submitted to a Wisconsin clinical reference laboratory, 17 (0.66%) tested positive for Aeromonas. Groundwater isolates of Aeromonas were obtained from private wells throughout Wisconsin and the drinking water of Aeromonas-positive patients. The analysis showed that the stool and drinking water isolates were genetically unrelated, suggesting that in this population Aeromonas gastrointestinal infections were not linked with groundwater exposures.