Aeromonas a negelected emerging old microbe that keeps on producing life treatening infections

Joint Event on 9^th International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases & 6^th World Congress on Control and Prevention of HIV/AIDS, STDs & STIs

August 27-28, 2018 | Zurich, Switzerland

Maria Jose Figueras and Ana Fernandez Bravo

Rovira i Virgili University, Spain

Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J AIDS Clin Res

Abstract :

At least 10 of the species included in the genus Aeromonas can be considered emerging pathogens to humans because they are able to produce a broad spectrum of infections. Since the earlier association of aeromonads with human disease, gastroenteritis, bacteremia and wound infections have remained the dominating presentations. The role of Aeromonas as etiological agent of diarrhea has been questioned for several years. However, recenty using dose response models of microbial infection we estimated that the median Aeromonas dose required for producing diarrhoeal cases (1%) ranged from 1.24 x 104 cfu to 0.9 cfu for low and highly susceptible individuals, repectively. Cases of mixed infections have been investigated and reveal important interactions among the recovered strains that impact the development of the infection. New findings evidenced that Aeromonas activate a strong immune response in a human monocytic cell line (THP-1) producing cell damage. Aeromonas are associated to other infections that can affect the respiratory tract, the bone and/or joints, the urinary tract and also necrotizing fasciitis mainly in patients with cirrhosis or hepatobiliary disease. We can predict that Aeromonas infections will remain a health problem in the near future considering the increase on the life span that will result in more elderly persons with potential undelaying diseases. Recognition of the Aeromonas infections at the clinical setting have and will improve with the used of the MALDI-TOF identification system, avoiding classical errors like the overestimation of Aeromonas hydrophila. However, there is a strong need for improving the database.

Biography :

Maria José Figueras is a PhD from University of Barcelona in 1986. Since 1979, she is a Lecturer at the Medical School of the University Rovira i Virgili, Reus, Spain and Professor of Microbiology since 2001. She has been working in the microbiological contamination of water since 1990. She is the advisor on the management of the risk derived from contaminated bathing water to the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), and the European Commission. She is involved in the European research projects aqua-chip, healthy-water, epibathe and aquavalens. Director of 8 PhDs on the taxonomy and epidemiology of the emerging pathogens Aeromonas and Arcobacter and author of 170 papers.

E-mail: mariajose.figueras@urv.cat