FATAL SEPTICEMIA CAUSED BY AEROMONAS-HYDROPHILA IN A PATIENT WITH CIRRHOSIS

In this case report from Italy we describe a fatal infection caused by A. hydrophila in a 39 yr old cirrhotic patient. This pathogen was iso lated as a pure single culture from the patient's blood sample. The pa tient died on the second day of hospitalization from overwhelming seps is. The A. hydrophila isolate was tested for different potential virul ence properties, such as invasiveness, adherence, exotoxins production , presence of fimbriae and for the patterns of resistance to a variety of antimicrobial agents. Although, the Aeromonas species are infreque ntly reported as a cause of human infections, the present case study c onfirms the capability of these pathogens to induce serious human infe ctions.