EXPERIMENTAL-EVIDENCE FOR TOXIN PRODUCTION BY AEROMONAS-HYDROPHILA AND AEROMONAS-SOBRIA IN A MEAT EXTRACT AT LOW-TEMPERATURES

The ability of enterotoxigenic strains of Aeromonas hydrophila and Aeromonas sobria to produce exotoxins (enterotoxin and haemolysin) in a meat extract at low temperatures (5 and 12-degrees-C) was investigated. All three strains incubated at 12-degrees-C were enterotoxigenic and haemolytic in the meat extract after 5 days. At 5-degrees-C, five of the six strains tested were able to produce these exotoxins after 8 days incubation while one strain was neither enterotoxigenic nor haemolytic after 5, 8 and 11 days. The possible involvement of performed toxin(s) in Aeromonas gastroenteritis is also discussed.