A detection kit for Aeromonas hydrophila using antibody sensitized latex

Aeromonas hydrophila is a pathogen to fish as well as human. It is a food-borne disease, and causes severe mortality in fish, and sometimes severe septicemia in human. In this study, a rapid detection method using latex agglutination has been developed for A. hydrophila. Polyclonal antibodies were raised against membrane and whole cells of three isolates from rainbow trout. Among these, latex particles coated with antibodies raised against whole cells of isolate No. 2 showed the best sensitivity. With latex particles coated with this antibody, we could detect $5{\times}10^4$ CFU of A. hydrophila in 5 min. The cross-reactivity with bacteria constituting the normal intestinal microflora and other pathogens for rainbow trout was insignificant. This latex agglutination assay method produced positive reaction with all clinical isolates of A. hydrophila which were identified by species-specific PCR for 16S rRNA in A. hydrophila.ope