Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli are pathogens belonging to the Enterobacteriaceae family. They can cause infections ranging from uncomplicated urinary tract infection to severe bloodstream infection (BSI). The prevalence of extended spectrum βlactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (EPE) is increasing worldwide and carbapenemases (CPE), a subgroup of EPE where antibiotic treatment is ...

Infectious diseases form one of the greatest global challenges in medicine in our time. Ever since the famous, wrong prediction of the Surgeon General of the United States, William H. Stewart, in 1969: “We can close the books on infectious diseases,” infectious diseases have been on the rise. A large number of new infectious diseases emerged: major threats to the world like AIDS and SARS, but a...

Background: The impact of food animals as a possible reservoir for extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) producing Enterobacteriaceae, and the dissemination of such strains into the food production chain need to be assessed. In this study 334 fecal samples from pigs, cattle, chicken and sheep were investigated at slaughter. Additionally, 100 raw milk samples, representing bulk tank milk of 10...

While the mechanisms and quantitative details are complex, few analysts would doubt that antibiotic use increases the prevalence of drug-resistant bacterial pathogens among all bacteria causing disease in a population. The causal connection between antibiotic use and the total incidence of severe bacterial infections, possibly mediated by antibiotic resistance, is less clearly established. The ...

Klebsiella pneumoniae is the most common causes of pneumonia, urinary tract and bloodstream infections in patients in intensive care unit (ICU). In this study, twenty-two K. pneumoniae cultures were isolated from patients with respiratory tract infections in the same intensive care unit during 2010. All isolates were characterized by XbaI-pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, and the Minimum Inhibi...