Aeromonas infection from river and playa lake waters in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico

Trauma occurring in direct contact with freshwater bodies may result in wounds contaminated with a variety of microorganisms. Bacteria belonging to the genus Aeromonas have been recovered from these types of infections. We report two cases of Aeromonas hydrophila infections occurring from freshwater-contaminated wounds. One of these infections was acquired from a river in southeastern New Mexico; the other was from an urban playa lake in West Texas. The latter case prompted an ecological study of the seasonal occurrence of Aeromonas spp. and the incidence of resistance to antimicrobial agents in two of these local lakes. Recent scientific and medical literature data show that Aeromonas should be considered as a possible agent of infection in immunocompetent hosts from water exposure, even if the water is a running river or a seemingly unpolluted (“clean”) freshwater lake.