Enterobacter cloacae
Enterobacter cloacae is a Gram-negative, facultatively anaerobic, rod-shaped bacterium.
Enterobacter cloacae increasingly causes nosocomial infections, among intensive care patients. The following diseases, among others, can be caused by this pathogen:
Respiratory infections
Urinary tract infections
Wound infections
Cholangitis (inflammation of the bile ducts)
Endocarditis (inflammation of the heart´s inner lining)
Sepsis
Enterobacter cloacae poses a risk to people with a weak immune system. The pathogen has been detected not only in stool or fecal samples from humans and animals, but also in plants, in water, in insects, and in food.
Relevance of pathogen in transmission in endoscopy
Gastroenterology: Low
Pulmonology: High
Ear, nose, and throat: Not relevant
Urology: High
Relevance for endoscope surveillance
High concern organism
Transmission route
Transmission takes place via endogenous infections, contact infections, and contaminated food.
Resistance to antibiotics
Enterobacter cloacae shows resistance to numerous antibiotics such as 1st generation aminopenicillins and cephalosporins, aminoglycosides and carbapenems.
Bennett JE et al. Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases, Elsevier Inc. 2015.
Chang CL et al. Outbreak of ertapenem-resistant Enterobacter cloacae urinary tract infections due to a contaminated ureteroscope. J Hosp Infect 2013; 85: 118–124.
Gries O, Ly T: Infektologie – Kompendium humanpathogener Infektionskrankheiten und Erreger, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2019.
Hygienemaßnahmen bei Infektionen oder Besiedlung mit multiresistenten gramnegativen Stäbchen, Empfehlung der Kommission für Krankenhaushygiene und Infektionsprävention (KRINKO) beim Robert Koch-Institut (RKI), Bundesgesundheitsbl 2012 · 55:1311–1354.