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Appl Environ Microbiol. 1977 November; 34(5): 557-563
Copyright © 1977 American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Colonization of the Botanical Environment by Klebsiella Isolates of Pathogenic Origin

¹ U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Western Fish Toxicology Station, Corvallis, Oregon 97330
² Department of Microbiology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331

ABSTRACT

Growth, survival, and pathogenicity of Klebsiella growing in and on environmental foci were examined. Total coliforms present in raw wastes from pulp mills were in excess of 10⁵/ml, and 60 to 80% were Klebsiella. Fecal coliform counts ranged from 10¹ to 10⁵/ml. Klebsiella isolates from industrial effluents and a variety of human and bovine mastitis origins multiplied in pulp waste and commonly exceeded 10⁶ cells per ml. Pathogenic isolates also multiplied in dilute aqueous extracts of sawdust to comparable levels. Klebsiella strains from vegetable surfaces and human infections grew rapidly on the surfaces of potatoes and lettuce and exceeded 10³ organisms per g of surface peel and leaf after a 24h incubation at room temperature. After 7 weeks on potatoes stored at 5°C, some 10 to 30% of the day 1 Klebsiella counts were recoverable. Three Klebsiella isolates of pathogenic origin were passed 45 times through sterile pulp effluent (270 generations), and mean lethal dose levels in mice were periodically monitored. In two instances, a significant decrease in virulence was noted after 15 to 26 passes (90 to 156 generations). The third culture, of bovine mastitis origin, retained its original mean lethal dose value. Botanical milieu provided suitable habitats for the multiplication and colonization of Klebsiella isolates of disease origins in the same manner as indigenous isolates. Aquatic environments polluted with botanical material served as potential reservoirs for perpetuating the growth and spread of opportunistic Klebsiella pathogens that may ultimately colonize animals, humans, and aquatic organisms.

Technical paper no. 4617, Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station.

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