Aeromonas-associated diarrhoea in north India.

The incidence of Aeromonas-associated diarrhoea in patients attending the hospital attached to the Dayanand Medical College, Ludhiana, India was investigated during May 1984-May 1987. Microbiological examination of single faecal samples from 2,661 patients showed the presence of various enteropathogens of which details of only Aeromonas isolations are given and discussed in the present article. A small control sample of 105 age-matched healthy volunteers were also examined. Only 55 patients (2.1% of all patients) showed Aeromonas spp. in their stool samples on culture. Aeromonas as a single pathogen was isolated from 37 patients and, from 18 patients it was mixed with other enteropathogens. Stools of healthy controls did not contain any pathogen. Seven of 25 isolates of A. caviae, all 18 isolates of A. sobria and all 7 isolates of A. hydrophilla were shown to be enterotoxigenic by rabbit ileal loop test. There was no immunological cross-reaction between Aeromonas enterotoxin and Escherichia coli labile toxin antiserum. The Aeromonas isolates were susceptible to most of the commonly used antimicrobial agents except ampicillin and cephalothin.