More recently, Serratia marcescens has been found to be pathogenic to a small percentage of people, having been identified as a cause of urinary tract infections, wound infections, and pneumonia in hospital environments.
The main risk factors for bacteraemia/sepsis which is caused by Serratia is hospitalization, placement of intravenous catheters, intraperitoneal catheters and urinary catheters and prior instrumentation of the respiratory tract [2–5]. Serratia marcescens causes both opportunistic and nosocomial infections.
Serratia marcescens (S. marcescens) is a gram-negative bacillus that occurs naturally in soil and water and produces a red pigment at room temperature. It is associated with urinary and respiratory infections, endocarditis, osteomyelitis, septicemia, wound infections, eye infections, and meningitis.
Conclusions: Treatment of SM infections should include carbapenems or aminoglycosides in combination with third-generation (and eventually fourth-generation) cephalosporin. Cotrimoxazole should be considered in cases of uncomplicated urinary infections.
marcescens has been shown to cause a wide range of infectious diseases, including urinary, respiratory, and biliary tract infections, peritonitis, wound infections, and intravenous catheter-related infections, which can also lead to life-threatening bacteremia.
Serratia is usually treated with antibiotics, but it is naturally resistant to several common antibiotics such as ampicillin, macrolides, and first-generation cephalosporins. Antibiotics used to treat Serratia include: Cefepime (Maxipime) Broad-spectrum beta-lactam/Beta-lactamase inhibitor combinations.
Once s. marcescens has established itself on a surface, completely eliminating it can be very difficult. Total eradication of the bacteria can be only accomplished with a bleach-based disinfectant or cleaner.
It is commonly found in the respiratory and urinary tracts of hospitalized adults and in the gastrointestinal systems of children.
With prompt and adequate treatment, patients with Serratia recover without any long-term sequelae. Prognosis of Serratia infection is generally good in urinary tract infections, pneumonia, and local wound infections.
Serratia marcescens is an opportunistic pathogen that is primarily responsible for hospital-related infections. You can get infected with Serratia marcescens through: Contact with contaminated hospital equipment, such as catheters. Direct contact through infected people.
A minimal test scheme, consisting of deoxyribonuclease (DNase) and tween 80 hydrolysis (TEH) together with a few other biochemical tests, was used to make tentative identification of Serratia marcescens from clinical specimens.
Meropenem (Merrem IV)
Preferred therapy for Serratia meningitis. Bactericidal broad-spectrum carbapenem antibiotic that inhibits cell wall synthesis. Effective against most gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria.
Severe Serratia infection (bacteremia) carries a mortality rate of 26%. Among survivors, the prognosis for complete recovery is good. S marcescens endophthalmitis carries a poor prognosis in terms of maintaining vision.
The good news is Serratia marcescens is mostly harmless. Touching it while you're showering or cleaning won't cause any problems (in rare cases it can cause infections through open wounds or the eye).
It produces a fishy-urinary odor (trimethylalamine). It can be isolated from food, soil, water, plants, insects, and sewage. It is a potential pathogen for insects, animals, and humans and is an important cause of nosocomial (hospital-acquired) infections in humans.
What Causes Pink Mold in a Shower? Serratia marcescens and Aureobasidium pullulans are the most common bacteria that cause pink mold in a bathroom. These airborne bacterial species love moist environments like showers, where they feed on minerals and fatty deposits in soap and shampoo residue.
Optimal growing conditions for Serratia marcescens include dampness, mineral deposits and a climate ranging from warm to room temperature. It feeds on the minerals, fatty deposits and residue from your soap and personal hygiene products.
Cutaneous manifestations of S. marcessens infections have been reported as ulcer, abscess, granulomatous and nodular skin lesions [2].
marcescens were only killed by the use of chloramphenicol at ten and one hundred times concentrations used to kill planktonic bacteria, non-other of the antibiotics tested had the same effect.
A very easy homemade mixture that you can use to clean Serratia marcescens is baking soda mixed with dish detergent (a 4:1 ratio works best). After rinsing this mixture off, continue cleaning with vinegar. Let this soak and then clean and rinse.
this various incubation period, the results elucidated that 48 hours incubation showed the highest pigment production in S.
S. marcescens gives rise to a wide range of clinical manifestations in newborns: from asymptomatic colonization to keratitis, conjunctivitis, urinary tract infections, pneumonia, surgical wound infections, sepsis, bloodstream infection and meningitis [6,7].
The diagnosis of Serratia infection relies primarily on isolation of organisms from clinical material. Nonspecific laboratory tests occasionally may be misleading. Serratia meningitis in a neonate may be accompanied by a normal cerebrospinal fluid white blood cell count or only a modest cerebrospinal fluid pleocytosis.