Enterobacteriaceae

From WikiMD's Food, Medicine & Wellness Encyclopedia

Enterobacteriaceae is a large family of Gram-negative bacteria that includes, along with many harmless symbionts, many of the more familiar pathogens, such as Salmonella, Escherichia coli, Yersinia pestis, Klebsiella and Shigella. Other disease-causing bacteria in this family include Proteus, Enterobacter, Serratia, and Citrobacter. This family is the only representative in the order Enterobacteriales of the class Gammaproteobacteria in the phylum Proteobacteria.

Characteristics[edit | edit source]

Enterobacteriaceae are Gram-negative bacteria, as defined by their staining pattern in the Gram stain test, which is used as a classification tool in microbiology. They are also facultatively anaerobic, which means they can grow in both oxygen-rich and oxygen-poor environments.

Pathogenesis[edit | edit source]

Members of the Enterobacteriaceae can cause a wide range of infections, though for most species these are uncommon. These include urinary tract infection, sepsis, pneumonia, traveller's diarrhea, and hospital-acquired infections.

Treatment[edit | edit source]

Treatment depends on the specific bacterium involved, and the site and severity of the infection. Antibiotics are a common treatment, though some Enterobacteriaceae have developed antibiotic resistance.

See also[edit | edit source]

Enterobacteriaceae Resources
Doctor showing form.jpg
Wiki.png

Navigation: Wellness - Encyclopedia - Health topics - Disease Index‏‎ - Drugs - World Directory - Gray's Anatomy - Keto diet - Recipes

Search WikiMD


Ad.Tired of being Overweight? Try W8MD's physician weight loss program.
Semaglutide (Ozempic / Wegovy and Tirzepatide (Mounjaro) available.
Advertise on WikiMD

WikiMD is not a substitute for professional medical advice. See full disclaimer.

Credits:Most images are courtesy of Wikimedia commons, and templates Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY SA or similar.


Contributors: Prab R. Tumpati, MD