Opportunistic Enterobacteriaceae

Many Enterobacteriaceae with minimum pathogenicity are classic opportunists. The most frequent opportunistic infections caused by them are: urinary tract infections, respiratory tract infections, wound infections, dermal and subcutaneous infections, and sepsis.

Such infections only occur in predisposed hosts, they are frequently seen in patients with severe primary diseases. Another reason why opportunistic Enterobacteriaceae have become so important in hospital medicine is the frequent development of resistance to anti-infective agents, which ability enables them to persist at locations where use of such agents is particularly intensive, i.e., in hospitals. Occurrence of multiple resistance in Enterobacteriaceae is due to the impressive genetic variability of these organisms . Table 4.9 provides an overview of the most important opportunistic Enterobacteriaceae.