Transient intestinal colonization by multiple phenotypes of Aeromonas species during the first week of life

The intestinal colonization rate of Aeromonas spp. was determined for 52 cesarean-born Peruvian neonates. Rectal swabs were obtained daily from newborns during their postdelivery hospitalization (mean = 5.5 days), and the gross appearances of their feces (blind determinations) were recorded. Aeromonas spp. were recovered from rectal swabs of 12 of 52 (23.1%) infants during their first week of life; the isolates were obtained from 5 of 9 (55.6%) infants with at least one stool with a watery consistency and from 7 of 43 (16.3%) neonates with no watery stools (P = 0.022). None of the infected infants became clinically ill. No other commonly recognized enteropathogens were detected in watery stools. An environmental survey indicated that hospital water was the probable source of infection. These and other data indicated that Aeromonas colonization occurs transiently at a very early age in Peruvian neonates and that in some instances, initial infection may be followed several days later by one or more watery stools of normal volume.