Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) infection is an illness caused by a type of bacterium that commonly lives in the intestines. These infections typically occur in a hospital setting, though they can occur in the community as well, particularly in people with compromised immune systems.
K. pneumoniae infections often get treated with antibiotics, but this bacterium is prone to becoming antibiotic resistant. This can lead to difficulties in treatment and severe complications.
K. pneumoniae can cause different infections depending on the part of your body the bacteria enters or comes in contact with. Common types of infection include:
- Pneumonia When K. pneumoniae enters the respiratory tract, it can lead to bacterial pneumonia, or an infection of the lungs. Symptoms include chest pain when you breathe or cough, fever and chills, shortness of breath, fatigue, a cough that may produce distinctive red phlegm, and changes in mental awareness. It is most serious in older adults, young children, and people with a compromised immune system.
- Bloodstream Infections Klebsiella that enters the bloodstream can cause bacteremia, or an infection of the blood. It may be a primary infection from bacteria entering due to contaminated IV lines, for example, or secondary from an infection spreading from another area of the body. Bacteremia needs to be treated right away, as these infections can progress to sepsis and septic shock, which can turn deadly. If you’ve recently had a medical procedure or are in the hospital and experience a sudden fever and chills, tell your doctor right away.
- Urinary Tract Infections (UTI) When klebsiella enters the urinary tract, it can lead to a UTI. A UTI can affect any part of the urinary system, including the urethra, kidneys, bladder, and ureters. Symptoms include a strong, frequent need to urinate, burning sensation during urination, and pelvic pain. Fever, chills, and back pain may occur in more severe cases. Women are at a greater risk for UTIs than men. Use of a urinary catheter can increase the risk of UTIs.
- Wound and Surgical Site Infections If klebsiella enters a break in the skin, it can lead to a skin or soft tissue infection. Typically, this happens with wounds caused by injury or after surgery. Symptoms can include fever, blisters, fatigue, redness, swelling, and pain at the wound or surgical site.
- Meningitis Bacterial meningitis can occur when klebsiella enters the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord. It is a very serious infection that can be life-threatening. The bacteria can cause the tissues around the brain to swell, interfering with blood flow. This can result in paralysis or stroke. Symptoms, including high fever, headaches, and stiff neck, come on quickly, usually within 24 hours of infection. If left untreated, bacterial meningitis can lead to death.
- Intra-Abdominal Abscesses Pockets of pus can form inside the abdomen when a K. pneumoniae infection spreads beyond the intestines or another organ. These abscesses are often a result of abdominal surgery or inflammatory conditions affecting the gallbladder or abdominal lining. Liver abscesses can also occur when K. pneumoniae bacteria migrates from another part of the body, such as the gut, to the liver. Potential symptoms include fever, chills, night sweats, right-sided abdominal pain, decreased appetite, nausea, and weakness. This type of liver abscess is potentially fatal and treated with a combination of antibiotics and drainage.
K. pneumoniae infections will cause different symptoms based on the area of the body the bacteria affects.
For example, if it causes pneumonia, symptoms can include:
- High fever (up to 105 F or 40.55 C).
- Cough that produces mucus
- Rapid breathing
- Tiredness (fatigue)
- Rapid heart rate
- Shortness of breath
- Sharp chest pain, particularly when breathing or coughing
- Sweating or chills
- Bluish skin, lips or nails (cyanosis)
- Confusion or altered mental state
- Loss of appetite
Meningitis from
K. pneumoniae produces the hallmark symptoms of
bacterial meningitis , including fever, confusion, neck stiffness, and sensitivity to bright lights.
Bloodstream infections (bacteremia and
sepsis) from klebsiella can cause fever, chills, fatigue, lightheadedness, and altered mental state.
K. pneumoniae infections are typically "nosocomial" infections, which means they're often contracted in a hospital or healthcare setting. People with noncompromised immune systems generally do not contract severe
K. pneumoniae infections.
These bacteria are not airborne, so you can't contract a
K. pneumoniae infection by breathing the same air as an infected person.
Infections often occur when medical equipment becomes contaminated with
K. pneumoniae and the bacteria find its way into the body. For example, people on ventilators can contract klebsiella if breathing tubes are contaminated with the bacteria.
In other cases, contaminated surgical equipment may cause an infection to occur. These infections can also happen when normally harmless klebsiella bacteria move into parts of the body where they don’t belong. This is more likely in people who are already sick in the hospital or who have had surgeries, medical procedures, or devices placed in their body, making them more vulnerable to infection.
Risk factors associated with
K. pneumoniae infection include:
- How strong the bacteria is and whether it is antibiotic resistant
- Age, genetics, and immune system strength
- Additional factors such as antibiotic use, environmental exposure, nutrition, and alcoholism
People living with diabetes may also have a higher chance of developing
K. pneumoniae infections.
K. pneumoniae infection diagnosis typically requires cultures from blood, mucus, urine, or tissue samples. A doctor or other healthcare provider collects a sample and sends it to a lab to run a culture and testing.
The type of sample collected and tests performed can also depend on the location of the
K. pneumoniae infection. For example, if you have pneumonia, doctors may examine the mucus you cough up, examine chest X-rays, and collect blood samples.
To diagnose meningitis and determine if it is caused by
K. pneumoniae, doctors need to perform a lumbar puncture. This test retrieves cerebrospinal fluid from the spinal canal for lab testing and analysis.
For urinary tract infections, a urine sample is sent to the lab for analysis.
K. pneumoniae treatment typically involves the use of antibiotics. The rise of
antibiotic-resistant strains of the bacteria has complicated matters.
Some "superbug" strains of
K. pneumoniae are resistant to most antibiotics, including last resort medications like carbapenems. These bacteria, known as hypervirulent and multidrug-resistant
Klebsiella pneumoniae (hvKp), produce enzymes called
Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemases (KPC), which render the antibiotics ineffective.
To treat multidrug resistant klesbiella infections, experts generally recommend doctors call in infectious disease consultation to advise on the best course of treatment.
Medications used to treat multidrug resistant
K. pneumoniae may include:
- Aminoglycosides
- Fosfomycin
- Tigecycline
- Carbapenems
- Specialized antibiotics like ceftazidime-avibactam, meropenem-vaborbactam,cefiderocol, and eravacycline
In some cases, combination therapies using two or more medications may be the best option.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has guidelines for healthcare providers to reduce the risk of hospital-acquired
K. pneumoniae infections. Safety measures include frequent handwashing and use of hand sanitizer, as well as the wearing of gloves and gowns when in the rooms of patients who have klebsiella-related illnesses.
The CDC also advises medical staff to follow all core infection control practices as well as take the necessary steps to clean and sanitize healthcare equipment, including ventilators.
People in the hospital, as well as their caregivers, can take steps to prevent infections, including frequent handwashing, using alcohol-based hand sanitizers, and reminding everyone, including staff members, to wash their hands before handling medical devices.
The majority of otherwise healthy individuals in the community will not develop a K. pneumoniae infection. Following basic hygiene, such as washing hands after using the bathroom, can help with general infection prevention.
To help keep some immunity from
K. pneumoniae, researchers recommend taking the following steps:
- Get regular exercise.
- Take steps to get enough sleep.
- Quit smoking.
- Eat a healthy diet that includes fruits and vegetables.
The CDC also recommends you wash your hands in all the following situations to help prevent
K. pneumoniae infection:
- Before touching your eyes, nose or mouth
- Before preparing or eating your food
- After blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing
- Before and after changing wound dressings or bandages
- After touching hospital surfaces, such as bed rails, bedside tables, doorknobs, remote controls or the phone
- After using the restroom
The infection length of K. pneumoniae can vary.
One study suggests that it takes between 7 and 14 days to treat most
K. pneumoniae infections with antibiotics. The researchers noted that in several different studies, shorter (7 days) and longer (14 days) treatments had little difference in clinical outcomes, clearing the infection, and mortality rates.
Your doctors or clinical team should be able to provide better guidance on how long your infection will last and options for treatment.
Prognosis for
K. pneumoniae pneumonia is poor among several populations, including:
- People who misuse alcohol
- People living with diabetes
- Those who acquired it in a hospital setting
- People who develop sepsis
The mortality rate for
K. pneumoniae pneumonia is over 50 percent.
According to the Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP), antibiotic-resistant
K. pneumoniae infections account for more than 600,000 deaths a year globally, which is higher than malaria.
For
K. pneumoniae meningitis, the estimated mortality rate is between 23.7 and 62.5 percent.
K. pneumoniae infections can be fatal, depending on the part of the body it affects. Some people may develop long-lasting complications.
K. pneumoniae meningitis can lead to several potential complications, such as:
- Hearing issues
- Intellectual and learning disabilities
- Headaches
- Vision issues or loss of sight
- Paralysis
- Fatigue
Those with
K. pneumoniae pneumonia may develop damage to their lungs, including the formation of lung abscesses.
In some cases,
K. pneumoniae can get into the liver causing abscesses. It can occur when a
K. pneumoniae infection spreads from another area of infection, such as the gut. People who develop a liver abscess may find that
K. pneumoniae spreads to their eyes, causing endogenous endophthalmitis, a vision-threatening infection.
An older study published in the
American Journal of Medicine estimated the overall annual population incidence of klebsiella infection is 7.1 per 100,000. The researchers found elderly people and men were at highest risk of infection.
K. pneumoniae accounts for about 11.8 percent of all hospital-acquired pneumonias worldwide.
In the community, klebsiella accounts for about 3 to 5 percent of pneumonia in the United States and other developed countries. In developing countries, the percentage of pneumoniae cases involving klebsiella is about 15 percent.
A small 2025 study suggested that cases of
K. pneumoniae UTIs are on the rise, presenting a challenge in treatments due to antibiotic resistance.
Carbapenem-resistant klebsiella is one of the most common CREs in the United States. The other is carbapenem-resistant
Escherichia coli (E. coli).
E. coli normally lives in the intestines, where it does not cause illness. But like klebsiella, when it gets into the respiratory tract, bloodstream, or urinary tract, it can cause dangerous and even deadly infections.
Some strains of
E. coli in cattle can also cause intestinal infections in humans.
