Definition | Enterobacteriaceae | Futura Health

The enterobacteria owes their name to the fact that they are hosts (normal or pathogens) of digestive tract animals, especially humans.

Characteristics of enterobacteria

Those are bacilli, i.e. bacteria shaped rod, Gram negative. They are 2 to 4 µm long by 0.4 to 0.6 µm wide, some enterobacteria are mobile, others are not.

They carry on their surface antigens, whose :

• O antigens (wall antigens);
• H antigens (flagellar antigens);
• K antigens

They generally develop well on laboratory culture media.

Kinds of Enterobacteriaceae

Enterobacteriaceae include a large number ofcash :