Virulence factors (aerobactin and mucoid phenotype) in Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli blood culture isolates

We examined the presence of two virulence factors in 241 blood isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae from patients hospitalized during 1989 and 1990 in 7 French hospitals, and 125 blood isolates of Escherichia coli from one hospital. Aerobactin was scored phenotypically and genotypically with an intragenic DNA probe of 2 kb. The mucoid phenotype was assessed by culture on trypticase soy agar and by genotypic analysis (intragenic DNA probe of 235 bp). Only 6% K. pneumoniae isolates were aerobactin-positive with no significant variation according to geographical location while 20% of K. pneumoniae isolates displayed the mucoid phenotype, with a significant variation according to hospital. Aerobactin was always associated with the mucoid phenotype. The frequency of aerobactin production but not mucoid phenotype (14%) was higher among E. coli isolates (48%). They harbored two types of large plasmids. Intraperitoneal injection into mice of 103 cfu of K. pneumoniae producing both virulence factors demonstrated that capsular serotype K2 was the more virulent K23 and K28.