Klebsiella pneumoniae

Klebsiella pneumoniae
	; K. pneumoniae on a MacConkey agar plate.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Bacteria;
Phylum:	Proteobacteria;
Class:	Gamma Proteobacteria;
Order:	Enterobacteriales;
Family:	Enterobacteriaceae;
Genus:	Klebsiella;
Species:	K. pneumoniae;
Binomial name
	Klebsiella pneumoniae; (Schroeter 1886); Trevisan 1887

Klebsiella pneumoniae is a Gram-negative, non-motile, encapsulated, lactose fermenting, facultative anaerobic, rod shaped bacterium found in the normal flora of the mouth, skin, and intestines.^[1] It is clinically the most important member of the Klebsiella genus of Enterobacteriaceae; it is closely related to K. oxytoca from which it is distinguished by being indole-negative and by its ability to grow on both melezitose and 3-hydroxybutyrate. It naturally occurs in the soil and about 30% of strains can fix nitrogen in anaerobic condition.^[2] As a free-living diazotroph, its nitrogen fixation system has been much studied.

New antibiotic resistant strains of K. pneumoniae are appearing, and it is increasingly found as a nosocomial infection.^[3]

[edit] History

The Danish scientist Hans Christian Gram (1853–1938), developed the technique now known as Gram staining in 1884 to discriminate between K. pneumoniae and Streptococcus pneumoniae.

Klebsiella was named after the German bacteriologist Edwin Klebs (1834–1913).

Multiply-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae have been killed in vivo via intraperitoneal, intravenous or intranasal of phages in laboratory tests.^[4]

^ Ryan KJ; Ray CG (editors) (2004). Sherris Medical Microbiology (4th ed. ed.). McGraw Hill. ISBN 0838585299.
^ Postgate J (1998). Nitrogen fixation, 3rd ed.. Cambridge University Press.
^ [1]
^ [2]

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