Infection with Enterobacteria

Colonization of the gut with members of the Enterobacteriaceae family is unavoidable, as is the subsequent translocation to the urogenital tract. Infection is caused by strains with the ability to invade tissue, or when toxins are secreted. According to the WHO there are 4.5 billion cases of infection with enterobacteria every year, of which 1.9 million end in death, a number that would be much higher without antibiotics. Pneumonia and blood stream infections have the highest mortality. Gut bacteria translocate to and establish themselves in the airways by aspiration, hematogenous spread, or extension from adjacent infected structures, such as the sinuses or pleural space (W. Lee Hand & J. W. Smith, Immunology of Enterobacterial Infections; Chapter 10 in Immunology of Human Infection I, ed. A.J. Nahmias & R.J. O'Reilly, Springer Science & Business Media 2013; Hui, Leung & Padwal, Approach to Internal Medicine: A Resource Book for Clinical Practice, Edition 4, Springer 2015; Calderaro et al., 2022).

Summary from Reactome (R-HSA-9640148), read 2026-09-23.