Enteropathogenicity of Klebsiella pneumoniae strains isolated from stools of diarrhoeal patients and other clinical specimens: an experimental study.

In recent years strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae have been implicated as intestinal pathogen. Sixty three strains isolated from faeces of children with or without diarrhoea and other specimens of extraintestinal infections were tested for their enteropathogenicity in biological models. Thirty nine of them isolated from different sources caused accumulation of fluid in rabbit ileal loops comparable to that caused by toxigenic V. cholerae 569B. Ten strains, however, required 1-3 serial passages in rabbit gut before giving a positive loop reaction. Culture filtrates of these 39 strains also caused fluid accumulation comparable to that caused by live cells indicating elaboration of enterotoxic substance(s) in the medium. The enterotoxic factor was found to be heat-stable. However, the pattern of time course of fluid accumulation in ileal loops indicated elaboration of an additional heat labile factor. Most of the strains produced cytoxic factor as well. The mode of action of the toxin/s in secretion of fluid in experimental model possibly involve cAMP and prostaglandin. However, further studies are necessary to elucidate the exact mode of action of the enterotoxins. None of the strains tested was found to be enteroinvasive.