- Klebsiella pneumoniae is a Gram-negative, non-motile, encapsulated, lactose fermenting, facultative anaerobic, rod shaped bacterium found in the normal flora of the mouth, skin, and intestines.
- It is clinically the most important member of the Klebsiella genus of Enterobacteriaceae.
- urea positive (blue color of the slope), metabolise glucose with production of gas (bubbles under a piece of glass – in detail left down side of each plate) and is lactose positive (but on Endo agar its colonies often remain quite pale).
- Unlike some similarly looking strains of Enterobacter cloacae is K. pneumoniae lysine “+”, ornithine “-“, arginine “-” (E. cloacae lysine “-“, ornithine “+”, arginine “+”).
Klebsiella pneumoniae Grown on Nutrient Agar
Klebsiella pneuomoniae mucus colonies
Klebsiella pneuomoniae on Blood agar on the left and Macconkey agar on the Right
lactose fermentation gives pink color on Macconkey
