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Review
. 2024 Jan 27;13(2):78.
doi: 10.3390/biology13020078.

General Overview of Klebsiella pneumonia: Epidemiology and the Role of Siderophores in Its Pathogenicity

Rim Abbas  1 , Mohamed Chakkour  2 , Hiba Zein El Dine  3 , Eseiwi Folorunsho Obaseki  2 , Soumaya T Obeid  4 , Aya Jezzini  4 , Ghassan Ghssein  4 , Zeinab Ezzeddine  4
Affiliations
Review

General Overview of Klebsiella pneumonia: Epidemiology and the Role of Siderophores in Its Pathogenicity

Rim Abbas et al. Biology (Basel). .

Abstract

The opportunistic pathogen Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) can colonize mucosal surfaces and spread from mucosae to other tissues, causing fatal infections. Medical equipment and the healthcare setting can become colonized by Klebsiella species, which are widely distributed in nature and can be found in water, soil, and animals. Moreover, a substantial number of community-acquired illnesses are also caused by this organism worldwide. These infections are characterized by a high rate of morbidity and mortality as well as the capacity to spread metastatically. Hypervirulent Klebsiella strains are thought to be connected to these infections. Four components are critical to this bacterium's pathogenicity-the capsule, lipopolysaccharide, fimbriae, and siderophores. Siderophores are secondary metabolites that allow iron to sequester from the surrounding medium and transport it to the intracellular compartment of the bacteria. A number of variables may lead to K. pneumoniae colonization in a specific area. Risk factors for infection include local healthcare practices, antibiotic use and misuse, infection control procedures, nutrition, gender, and age.

Keywords: Klebsiella pneumoniae; epidemiology; pathogenesis; siderophores.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Global distribution of hvKp. The severity of hvKp is differentiated by color. Regions with high severity have endemic spread of hvKp. This manifests as severe clinical outcomes in regions. Moderate severity regions have moderate case studies of hvKp infections. Likewise, the low-severity region has few hospital-reported cases of hvKp infection [65,66,67,68,69].
Figure 2
Figure 2
The structure of aerobactin.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Aerobactin transport through the inner and outer membranes of K. pneumoniae.
Figure 4
Figure 4
The structure of enterobactin.
Figure 5
Figure 5
The structure of yersiniabactin and salmochelin.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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