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Hello everyone. My name
is Dr. Sarah Fouch,
and within this talk, we will
be considering Klebsiella,
the types of
infections associated
with the most common
species of Klebsiella,
and the virulence
factors that they can
produce to enable them to
be successful pathogens.
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Klebsiella are
Gram-negative bacilli that
are classified within the
Enterobacteriaceae family.
They are non-motile,
which means that they do
not have flagelli, and in
most cases, they are
associated with
opportunistic infections.
When we think about
opportunistic infections,
this suggests they are
not as virulent as
other species of organisms
that we have discussed.
However, we'll think about
the virulence factors
and then reconsider that at
the end of this recording.
We can find
Klebsiella as part of
our normal flora up our noses,
within our throats,
on the skin,
and also within the
intestinal tract.
The most common species of
Klebsiella that will be isolated
within the laboratory
environment
is Klebsiella pneumoniae.
This is one of the
most common causes
of healthcare-associated
pneumonia.
Now, Klebsiella
pneumoniae has been
classified as an
ESKAPE organism.
This is E-S-K-A-P-E.
These organisms are
associated with
multidrug resistance and are
considered a threat
to human health.
The ESKAPE pathogens include
Enterococcus faecium,
Staphylococcus,
Klebsiella pneumoniae,
Acinetobacter baumannii,
Pseudomonas aeruginosa,
and Enterobacter species.
We have other species of
Klebsiella, and some
of these include
Klebsiella oxytoca, which
is often associated
with urinary tract infections
and skin and soft
tissue infections.
Klebsiella variicola was originally
associated with plants,
however has since been
linked to human infections.
Klebsiella africana is linked to
opportunistic infections of
the respiratory
and urinary tract.
