Sensitivity to the bactericidal effect of normal human serum on Klebsiella strains from different sources

A total 270 Klebsiella strains isolated from clinical infections, faeces of healthy food handlers and environmental sources were studied. Of the strains tested 177 (65.6%) were serum sensitivity, 71 (26.3%) were serum resistant and the remaining 22 (8.1%) showed intermediate sensitivity to pooled normal human serum (PNHS). Faecal coliform (FC) reaction was positive in 59 per cent and 6 per cent for K. pneumoniae and K. oxytoca respectively.