Aeromonas hydrophila in Shellfish Growing Waters: Incidence and Media Evaluation

Abstract
Levels of Aeromonas hydrophila determined for the shellfish growing area of Grays Harbor, Washington, ranged from 3 to 4600/100 g in oysters and from 3 to 2400/100 ml in water. Of isolates tested, 80% produced a hemolysin, a trait reported to correlate with enterotoxin production and pathogenicity. Two enrichment broths, Tryptic Soy Broth with ampicillin (TSBA) and Modified Rimler Shotts Broth (MRSB) were compared in combination with three solid agar media: Rimler Shotts (RS), Peptone Beef Extract Glycogen (PBG), and MacConkey's (MCA) agars. TSBA was far superior to MRSB in isolating this species from the environmental samples tested.