ABSTRACT
Aeromonas is a Gram-negative, cocco bacillary or rod-shaped bacterium, which appears singly, in pairs, and occasionally in short chains. On blood agar, Aeromonas forms round, raised, opaque colonies of 1–3?mm in diameter, with color changing from grayish to dark green after 3 days. The most common gastrointestinal infection is gastroenteritis, with symptoms ranging from fever, vomiting, and abdominal cramp to diarrhea. Besides causing diseases in fish and other animals, Aeromonas species are also responsible for opportunistic foodborne or wound-related infections in humans, including gastroenteritis and extraintestinal infections (e.g., serious wound infections in healthy individuals, primary and secondary septicemia in immunocompromised individual, as well as peritonitis, meningitis, and infections of the eye, joints, and bones). Molecular assays targeting the virulence genes, housekeeping genes, and 16S rRNA genes of Aeromonas spp. provide a rapid and precise means for their detection, identification, and epidemiological tracking and contribute to the early implementation of antimicrobial therapy.
