A cluster of cases of infections due to Aeromonas hydrophila revealed by combined RAPD and ERIC-PCR

Abstract

Two polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based methods were used for epidemiological typing of Aeromonas hydrophila. Random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus-PCR (ERIC-PCR) were applied to an outbreak involving seven patients. The epidemiological situation appeared complex; with the exception of two clinical isolates, all gave unique patterns with both techniques. These methods demonstrated nosocomial transmission in one unit and permitted the study to exclude a common environmental source in the hospital. The coincidental clustering of patients infected with A. hydrophila probably resulted from an increased prevalence of aeromonads in waters during summer, although no single RAPD or ERIC-PCR pattern was found among both clinical and environmental samples. RAPD and ERIC-PCR proved to be effective for the epidemiological study of A. hydrophila strains.

Characterization and antimicrobial susceptibility of motile aeromonads isolated from freshwater ornamental fish showing signs of septicaemia

“…The majority of isolates were genetically distinct (62% of the isolates had similarities below 90%), with no dominant clones of A. veronii associated with MAS in the fish population investigated. This kind of high genetic diversity had been observed among clinical and environmental isolates of aeromonads from different sources typed by the above technique (Davin-Regli et al 1998, Szczuka & Kaznowski 2004.…”

Distribution of virulence genes in Aeromonas spp. isolated from Sardinian waters and from patients with diarrhoea

“…ERIC-PCR ®ngerprinting which has previously been used to type enterobacteria and mycobacteria (Guerrero et al 1995;Sechi et al 2000a) was applied to differentiate the Aeromonas strains in this study. Davin-Regli et al 1998) distinguished between A. hydrophila strains by using RAPD and ERIC-PCR. Faeces/99…”

Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA Typing of Clinical and Environmental <i>Aeromonas hydrophila</i> Strains from Limpopo Province, South Africa

“…Studies in France also found that the water sampled in the hospital was not the source of infections for patients at the University Hospital in Marseille (18). With the high prevalence of HIV and AIDS in South Africa, patients might become more susceptible to infection by Aeromonas, and the possibility of acquiring the organisms from water is high and represents a great threat to human health.…”