Aeromonasspp. Isolated From Ready-To-Eat Seafood On The Norwegian Market: Prevalence, Putative Virulence Factors And Antimicrobial Resistance

Aims We aim to investigate the prevalence, putative virulence factors and antimicrobial resistance of mesophilicAeromonasisolated from ready-to-eat (RTE) seafood available on the Norwegian market, and to assess the potential risks by consuming RTE seafood to consumers. Methods and Results The prevalence of mesophilicAeromonasin 148 RTE seafood was investigated and the highest prevalence was found in retail sushi (17%), followed by oysters (10%), fresh salmon loins (10%) and scallops (4%). Among 43Aeromonasisolates, 75% of them were identified asA. media, 23% asA. salmonicidaand 2% asA. bestiarumbased on partialgryBgene sequencing.Aeromonasisolates were potentially pathogenic due to the presence of four virulence genes:alt(73%),hylA(22%),aerA(17%) andact(6%). In addition, all isolates were resistant to ampicillin and erythromycin. Most of the isolates (98%) were multidrug resistant. Conclusions The occurrence of potentially pathogenic and multidrug-resistantAeromonasstrains in RTE seafood implies a potential risk to consumers. Our finding suggests that RTE seafood could be a potential vehicle for the transfer of virulent and multidrug-resistantAeromonas. Significance and Impact of the Study To our knowledge, this is the first study to report multiple antibiotic resistance inAeromonasassociated with RTE seafood in Norway.