Virulence genes of Aeromonas spp. isolates from stool in Spain

Introduction: The role of Aeromonas species in gastrointestinal disease is controversial. The aim was to analyze not only the virulence genes between different species of Aeromonas isolated from feces, but the distribution of these virulence genes between enterotoxigenic strains and co-pathogen strains.

Methods: Retrospective study of isolates of Aeromonas spp. in feces (2016-2021). The protocol included coproculture, identification by MALDI-TOF and confirmation by multiplex PCR. SPSS Statistics program was used.

Results: A total of 288 strains were studied for the virulence genes between different species of Aeromonas. To compare virulence genes between Aeromonas as co-pathogen and those isolated alone, 218 strains of the global set were used; 52 as co-pathogens compared with 166 Aeromonas without associated pathogen as controls.

Conclusions: We found no significant differences in the distribution of virulence genes versus co-existence of co-pathogens or not. A. hydrophila is the potentially most virulent species of our set.