title: Fatal infection in human flora-associated piglets caused by the opportunistic pathogen Klebsiella pneumoniae from an apparently healthy human donor.
abstract: Seventeen out of 24 human flora-associated (HFA) piglets died after oral administration of whole fecal flora from an apparently healthy human donor. The bacteria isolated from the organs of the infected piglets were identified as Klebsiella pneumoniae by bacteriological and biochemical tests and 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. The identical K. pneumoniae strain was also isolated from the donor's fecal flora. All three neonatal piglets inoculated with K. pneumoniae from the donor's fecal flora developed severe diarrhea, with 2 eventually dying. This strongly suggests that the opportunistic pathogen K. pneumoniae from the human donor caused the fatal infection in the HFA piglets. The results underscore the importance of safety evaluation of the human donor's fecal flora for HFA piglet development.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Microbial Ecology and Ecogenomics, Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, College of Life Science and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Hua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Xiaoyan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Pang
authors.forename: Dezhong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Baorang
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Haifeng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Tingting
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Chenhong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xiuguo
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Hua
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.forename: Liping
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhao
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D007710:Klebsiella Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D007711:Klebsiella pneumoniae / Q000254:growth & development*; D023421:Models, Animal; D009894:Opportunistic Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D013552:Swine; D013553:Swine Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*