Overview
- Found in the soil and environment
- Found in the gut
- Usually opportunistic pathogens
Characteristics
- Lactose fermentors
- Possess large capsules causing colonies to be large and mucoid
- Certain capsule types associated with metritis in mares
- Wide spectrum of antibiotic resistance
Clinical infections
- Klebsiella pneumoniae isolated in most cases of Klebsiella infection
- Coliform mastitis in cows
- Associated with wood products used for bedding for cattle - implicated as cause of mastitis
- Endometritis, cervitis and mastitis in mares, causing infertility and abortion
- Pneumonia in calves and foals
- Urinary tract infections in dogs
- Septicaemia and pneumonia in dogs
- Wound infections
- In osteomyelitis