Abstract
We studied 455 consecutive episodes of Klebsiella pneumoniae bacteremia occurring in 7 countries. Community-acquired pneumonia and an invasive syndrome of liver abscess, meningitis, or endophthalmitis occurred only in Taiwan and South Africa. Infections by K1 and K2 capsular serotype, the mucoid phenotype, and aerobactin production were important determinants of virulence. The mucoid phenotype was seen in 94% of isolates in patients with community-acquired pneumonia and in 100% of isolates that caused the invasive syndrome in Taiwan and South Africa, compared with only 2% of isolates elsewhere. Mortality of mice injected with mucoid strains (69%) was strikingly higher than that occurring in mice injected with nonmucoid strains (3%, p < 0.001). Differences in clinical features of bacteremic infection with K. pneumoniae are due to the virulence factors expressed by the organism.
Publication types
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
MeSH terms
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Animals
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Antigens, Bacterial
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Bacteremia / epidemiology
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Bacteremia / microbiology*
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Bacteremia / pathology
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Bacterial Capsules
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Biological Assay
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Community-Acquired Infections
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Disease Outbreaks
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Female
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Humans
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Klebsiella Infections / epidemiology
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Klebsiella Infections / microbiology*
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Klebsiella Infections / pathology
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Klebsiella pneumoniae / classification
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Klebsiella pneumoniae / pathogenicity*
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Liver Abscess / epidemiology
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Liver Abscess / microbiology*
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Liver Abscess / pathology
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Meningitis, Bacterial / epidemiology
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Meningitis, Bacterial / microbiology*
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Meningitis, Bacterial / pathology
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Mice
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Mice, Inbred C57BL
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Phenotype
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Polysaccharides, Bacterial
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Prospective Studies
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Risk Factors
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Serotyping
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South Africa / epidemiology
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Taiwan / epidemiology
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Virulence
Substances
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Antigens, Bacterial
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Polysaccharides, Bacterial
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capsular polysaccharide K1
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capsular polysaccharide K2