Occurrence of Aeromonas species and Plesiomonas shigelloides in patients with and without diarrhoea in Lagos, Nigeria

The prevalence of Aeromonas spp. and Plesiomonas shigelloides was determined in patients attending the enteric laboratory of the Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Nigeria. During the 12-month study (October 1986-September 1987), Aeromonas spp. were isolated from 53 (2.26%) of 2350 patients with diarrhoea and only 2 (0.4%) of 500 patients without diarrhoea (p less than 0.01). Similarly, P. shigelloides was isolated from 16 (0.68%) patients with diarrhoea and none of the controls (p greater than 0.05). The seasonality, age and sex distribution of diarrhoea associated with Aeromonas spp. and P. shigelloides in this study were similar to those of diarrhoea associated with other recognised enteropathogens in Nigeria. Both species may play a role in the aetiology of acute diarrhoeal disease in that environment.