[Identification and biological characteristics of strains of psychrophilic bacteria isolated from the diarrhea of polar research workers and from the water of Antarctic lakes].

Bacteria of Klebsiella genus and psychrophylic microbes affiliated by morphological and biochemical properties to Bac. psychrosaccharolyticus were isolated in bacteriological examination of diarrhea in 8 of 14 participants of the 12th Soviet Antarctic expedition. Psychrophylic bacteria isolated from the human intestinal contents possessed pathogenicity signs, i.e. these microbes liquefied gelatine, produced a cytotoxic action in the cells line Hep-2, and caused death of 50% chick embryos in infection with a dose of 5 X 10(8) bacteria.