First isolation and antimicrobial susceptibility testing of Chromobacterium violaceum from oysters in Mexico

Abstract

Introduction

Chromobacterium violaceum is a Gram-negative, facultative, anaerobic, non-sporing, fermentative and oxidase-positive coccobacillus. Human infections caused by Chromobacterium violaceum are infrequent. There are a few reported cases in several countries. Those infections appear after a skin contact with soil or contaminated water. Infections can progress to necrotizing metastatatic lesions and multiple abscesses of the lung, liver, skin, spleen, lymph nodes and brain with fatal septicemia. Infections caused by this bacterium have a high lethality rate, with a low recovery rate among survivors. It has been described that this bacterium is resistant to several antibiotics.

Materials and methods

Chromobacterium violaceum was isolated, cultivated, and identified from oysters from thirteen different restaurants in Mexico City and antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed.

Results

Four isolations of Chromobacterium violaceum were obtained from oysters. Three of them corresponded to biotype 36 and all of them had a confidence factor of 0.987. All isolations were resistant to Carbencillin, Cephalothin and Cephotaxime. Two isolations were also resistant to Ampicillin and one was resistant to Amikacin. All isolations were sensitive to Ceftriaxone, Chloramphenicol, Gentamicin, Netilmicin, Nitrofurantoin, Pefloxacine and Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole.

Conclusions

The presence of Chromabacterium violaceum in food obtained from salt marshes that usually are eaten fresh (like oysters) means a high potential risk for human health because this bacterium has been associated with high morbidity and mortality. In our report, this bacterium showed resistance to several antibacterial agents. Patients should be cautions when eating fresh seafood, and healthcare personnel should suspect an infection caused by Chromobacterium violaceum if the patient presents with sepsis, enteritis or abscesses and they have risk factors for acquiring this bacterium in order to provide prompt treatment and reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with the infection. This work represents the first isolation, cultivation and identification of Chromobacterium violaceum in Mexico.