Serratia marcescens is a gram-negative rod-shaped facultatively anaerobic bacterium that is extremely motile. An S. marcescens gram stain shows short, pink-colored dots, as seen below. Rod-shaped bacteria, bacilliform bacteria or bacilli describe the typical shape of Serratia marcescens.
Pigmentation of Serratia marcescens depends on the composition of the cultivation medium. The cultures grown on glycerol-peptone medium and on the medium with acetate are red and yellow (yellowish orange), respectively, with the color depending on the ambient pH.
Because of its red pigmentation, caused by expression of the dye prodigiosin, and its ability to grow on bread, S. marcescens has been evoked as a naturalistic explanation of medieval accounts of the "miraculous" appearance of blood on the Corporal of Bolsena.
Symptoms may include fever, frequent urination, dysuria, pyuria, or pain upon urination. In 90% of cases, patients have a history of recent surgery or instrumentation of the urinary tract.
Now, Serratia marcescens has a thin peptidoglycan layer, so it doesn't retain the crystal violet dye during Gram staining. Instead, like any other Gram-negative bacteria, it stains pink with safranin dye. And since it's a Gram-negative bacillus, it looks like a little pink rod under the microscope.
If an infected hand touches the eye and natural immunity is unable to fend off Serratia colonization, the result might be conjunctivitis, keratitis or tear duct infections, for example. Once in the bloodstream, Serratia bacteria can cause endocarditis, bacteremia, meningitis, osteomyelitis and arthritis.
S. 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.
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. These suggest that chloramphenicol might be utilized for ALT against not only S.
Colonies often appear opaque, somewhat iridescent, white, pink, magenta, or red. Cultures can produce two kinds of odors, a fishy to urinary odor or a musty, potato-like odor.
Serratia marcescens, which can cause nosocomial outbreaks,and urinary tract and wound infections, is abundant in damp environments (Figure). It can be easily found in bathrooms, including shower corners and basins, where it appears as a pink–orange–red discoloration, due to the pigment known as prodigiosin.
Serratia marcescens is a gram-negative, facultatively-anaerobic bacterium and opportunistic pathogen which produces the red pigment prodigiosin.
Serratia species are gram-negative bacilli of the Enterobacteriaceae group of bacteria, although they are not a common component of healthy human fecal flora.
The incidence of skin infections caused by Serratia marcescens is extremely low and such infections are typically observed in immunocompromised patients. The clinical manifestations of these infections include cellulitis, abscesses, fluctuant nodules, or granulomatous lesions.
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.
Although extremely rare, it can also cause pneumonia and meningitis. 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.
Serratia marcescens is a rare agent causing peritonitis, and few cases of Serratia marcescens peritonitis in previous reports were successfully cured without removing the peritoneal catheter.
Serratia Species
The estimated incidence of Serratia infections in CGD patients is up to 0.98 cases per 100 patient-years, with a recurrence rate of 18%. Lymphadenitis and skin abscesses are the most common infections (44%), followed by pulmonary infections (36%) and osteomyelitis (8%).
S. marcescens thrives in poor living situations and when combined with antibiotic resistance, easily infects malnourished, old, very young, and chronically ill people. Most cases of Serratia infection are treated with antibiotics. Natural immunity can keep Serratia infection under control in healthy people.
S. marcescens infections are known to be transmitted through hand-to-hand contact by medical personnel.
They most frequently observe it in toilet bowls, on surfaces in shower stalls and bathtub enclosures, on tiles, in sinks, and in pet water dishes. The most common cause of this pink "stuff" is a red or pink pigmented bacteria known as Serratia marcescens.
Serratia is an airborne bacteria and can not survive in your chlorinated water supply. These airborne bacteria can come from any number of naturally occurring sources and the condition can be aggravated if you remove chlorine using an activated carbon filter.
Although most often known as pink mold, the formal name for this unsightly slime is Serratia marcescens. This type of bacteria is abundant in the air and can easily take up residence in damp spaces. Pink mold can feed off of fatty substances of phosphorus-containing materials, such as those found in shampoos or soaps.
Today, Serratia marcescens is considered a harmful human pathogen which has been known to cause urinary tract infections, wound infections, and pneumonia. Serratia bacteria also have many antibiotic resistance properties which may become important if the incidence of Serratia infections dramatically increases.