Colonization by or diarrhea due to kluyvera species

The pathogenicity of Kluyvera species has not been fully established. Normally regarded as saprophytes, these organisms have been isolated from cultures of the blood, bile, and sputum of humans. We isolated Kluyvera species from the stools of five cancer patients and one healthy subject with diarrhea as well as from five asymptomatic cancer patients. Most of the patients were elderly, neutropenic, and febrile, and they were receiving antibiotics and chemotherapy. Because Kluyvera species can colonize the gastrointestinal tract of humans and can also be found in food, their potential ability to cause diarrhea in humans, especially in neutropenic cancer patients, deserves further evaluation.