Serratia marcescens (Chromobacterium prodigiosum) is a freeliving saprophyte generally regarded as being non-pathogenic (Wilson and Miles, 1955). There is, however, reason to believe that under certain conditions this organism may be pathogenic. Three instances are here reported in which S. marcescens infection of the peritoneum occurred during peritoneal dialysis for acute renal failure. All t...

Serratia marcescens is a Gram-negative rod intrinsically resistant to polymyxins and usually associated with wound, respiratory and urinary tract infections. The whole genome of the first GES-5-producing S. marcescens isolated from a Brazilian patient was sequenced using Ion Torrent PGM System. Besides blaGES-5, we were able to identify genes encoding for other β-lactamases, for aminoglycoside ...

A genetic system for the selection of clones coding for integration host factor and HU homologs is described. We demonstrate that the himA and hip genes of Serratia marcescens and Aeromonas proteolytica can substitute for the Escherichia coli genes in a variety of biological assays. We find that the sequence and genetic organization of the himA and hip genes of S. marcescens are highly conserved.

Serratia marcescens has become an important nosocomial pathogen. During a period of seven years 123 strains, both pigmented and non-pigmented varieties were isolated. Their biochemical characteristics, antibiotic susceptibility pattern and clinical significance are described. The aminoglycosides appeared to be the most effective agents against this organism. "Compromised" patients were most vul...

Resistance plasmids were transferred in urine from a multi-drug-resistant Serratia marcescens to Escherichia coli. Transfer of resistance to kanamycin, tetracycline, chloramphenicol, streptomycin, ampicillin, and carbenicillin occurred readily after 4 h of incubation at room temperature (25 degrees C). The urinary catheter collection bag is postulated as a potential site for extraintestinal res...

One year ago, I had one of the worst experiences a hospital epidemiologist can have: a Serratia marcescens outbreak in a neonatal department with a total of 21 colonized or infected newborns. This outbreak caused headlines in all national TV channels and newspapers for at least one week in Germany. What happened? On October 8th, we identified two newborns with S. marcescens bloodstream infectio...

We report two cases of Serratia marcescens infection at the sites of spinal fractures and emphasise the fact that neurological deterioration soon after spinal fracture may be due to acute vertebral osteomyelitis.

We report a case of postsurgical wound infection of polymicrobial etiology caused by Serratia marcescens and Pseudomonas aeruginosa following the use of a radial forearm free flap for oncological tongue reconstruction. S. marcescens was a producer of SHV-12 extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL). This is the first report from India of this ESBL. S. marcescens and P. aeruginosa were resistant t...