Tracheobronchitis caused by Aeromonas veronii biovar sobria after near-drowning.

A 19-year-old man developed an acute tracheobronchitis shortly after having been rescued from a near-drowning in a river where previous investigations had demonstrated the presence of 500 c.f.u. ml(-1) of Aeromonas sp. in the water. An isolate of Aeromonas veronii biovar sobria was identified as the causative agent of the tracheobronchitis. The causality was supported by the massive growth of A. veronii in bronchial secretion, the presence of a type III secretion system in the bacterial isolate, and the strong haemolytic activity of the strain on blood agar.