ABSTRACT
Like Escherichia coli, Klebsiella and Enterobacter belong to the genus Enterobacteriaceae, but are grouped under the tribe Klebsiella. They are colonizers of the human gastrointestinal tract.
On Gram stains, Klebsiella appears as a large, gramnegative rod. Owing to its prominent polysaccharide capsule, it forms large mucoid colonies on agar media. Serotyping is done using predominantly the K capsular antigen. More than 70 K types have been identified. Although the capsule is an important virulence factor in preventing phagocytosis and helping to retard leukocyte migration, no specific K type is more pathogenic than another. Like most Enterobacteriaceae, Klebsiella produces endotoxin.The predominant species within obstetrics and gynecology is Klebsiella pneumoniae. Other species tend to be lumped together and reported just as Klebsiella species.
