Enterobacteriaceae, Coliforms and E.Coli

The Enterobacteriacea family is the largest of three families in Section 5 of Bergey's Manual comprising several familiar pathogens such as Salmonella, Klebsiella, Shigella, and Escherichia coli. This family plays a very significant role in a wide area of science as medical research, food microbiology, biochemistry, and molecular biology. This article gives an account of the classification and importance of the family members of Enterobacteriaceae and their characteristics. The methods of detection and enumeration of the members of several genera are based on their salient characteristics such as their habitat, nutritional requirement, metabolic fermentation, and genetic relatedness. There are concerns for the threats to humans posed by the Enterobacteriaceae family members in general and also due by the evolution of multiresistant strains, which represents a major challenge for the intensive health care unit. The deep understanding of members of important genera and their impact on prescribing related infections in human and their effective preventions are discussed.