Identification of etiology of Kluyvera strains from stool specimens from diarrhea patients

Objective The study was conducted to identify four gram-negative bacilli isolated from stool specimens from diarrhea patients, and determine their resistance and pathogenicity. Methods Biochemical tests and 16S rRNA sequence analysis were used to facilitate the identification of genus; ascorbate test and glucose 5 ℃ fermentation test were used to distinguish the species. The drug susceptibility was determined with the use of bioMerieux ATB G(-) 5 strips, and the pathogenicity was evaluated by conventional animal-model experiments. Results The four isolated strains were Kluyvea ascorbata, with resistance to the studied antibiotics to a certain extent though one of the strains showed no resistance. Results from various animal-model experiments were negative. Conclusion Certain resistance to common antibiotics was observed in the studied bacteria. However, endotoxic factors commonly found in diarrhea-causing Escherichia coli were not expressed by theses strains.