How Long Does it Take for Enterobacter Cloacae to Grow?

Enterobacter cloacae is a rod-shaped, gram-negative, anaerobic bacterium that occurs ubiquitously in the external environment and in the human body. It is found on the skin and in the gastrointestinal and urinary tract. As a human pathogen, it is causes respiratory and urinary tract infections. Infants and the elderly are most susceptible, and because it is often found in intensive care units, it is also called the "ICU bug." As a plant pathogen, E. cloacae causes internal yellowing in Hawaiian-grown papaya. E. cloacae has been used industrially in the biodegradation of explosives and in the treatment of certain plant diseases such as seed rotting caused by the fungus Pythium ultimum.

Growth

• Enterobacter cloacae finds a home and causes opportunistic infections in immunocompromised patients, particular infants and the elderly undergoing treatment in ICUs. Others at risk include people who have undergone recent hospitalization of greater than two weeks, invasive procedures in the last 72 hours, treatment with antibiotics in the last 30 days, or have a central venous catheter. A recent use of broad-spectrum antibiotics such as cephalosporins or aminoglycosides increases the risk of multidrug-resistant Enterobacter infections.

  In Hawaiian-grown papaya, E. cloacae often is transmitted by bees and insects stays on the fruit through maturity and only starts its infective activity as the fruit begins to ripen. In the laboratory E. cloacae grows well on standard microbiological media on which purple stain or yellow pigment are not produced. It appears as yellow colonies on yeast agar and dark pink colonies with translucent outer edges on tetrazolium chloride agar.

Treatment

• Treatment of Enterobacter infections is complicated by the fact that these bacteria are often antibiotic resistant. Therefore the treatment is done in consultation with infectious diseases experts on the ground. The standard treatment involves the use of the following antibiotics: beta-lactams, fluoroquinolones, aminoglycosides, TMP-SMZ, colistin and polymyxin B. Yellowing of Hawaiian-grown papaya is often handled non-chemically by using hot water quarantine treatments after harvesting.