title: Pseudomonas aeruginosa as a cause of infectious diarrhoea.
abstract: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is not generally considered a cause of infectious diarrhoea. However, it was the predominant organism isolated from the faeces of 23 unrelated, hospital outpatients investigated in the course of a year for persistent (> 1 week duration) diarrhoea. To investigate the possible aetiological role of P. aeruginosa, these patient histories were reviewed and a selection of their faecal isolates were investigated in vitro (n > or = 10) and in vivo (n = 2) for virulence. The patients had a mean age of 60 years, were receiving antibiotics and/or had an underlying illness. Extensive microbiological investigations identified no other potential or recognized enteropathogen in the faeces of 20 of these patients. More than 40% of the isolates tested were able to adhere to HEp-2 cells and exhibited twitching motility (type IV pili), properties indicative of their ability to colonize the human intestine. Cytotoxic activity was demonstrated in bacterium-free cell supernatants of over 80% of isolates; supernatants of four isolates tested in infant mice were weakly enterotoxigenic. Two isolates intragastrically inoculated into clindamycin pre-treated rats established persistent infections and induced signs and symptoms of enteritis. Overall these findings suggest that P. aeruginosa can cause diarrhoea particularly in immunodeficient individuals.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pathology, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia.
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Adlard
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Kirov
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sanderson
authors.forename: G E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Cox
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000382:microbiology*; D004751:Enteritis / Q000382:microbiology*; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016867:Immunocompromised Host; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011552:Pseudomonas Infections / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D014774:Virulence