Rettgeri

The first task that I had to do upon receiving my unknown was making two subcultures of it. The “stock” culture would serve as my emergency backup in case my bug got contaminated, while the “working” culture was the one I would utilize to perform the biochemical tests. The next thing I did after this was the gram stain. The purpose of this was to find my bug’s gram designation and morphology so that I would be working in the right direction. My bug retained the safranin stain which meant it was gram negative. The cells of the bacteria were rod shaped, therefore, their morphology was bacillus. The following test I did was the Oxidase test. The unknown tested negative for this particular test because the oxistrip failed to turn blue shortly

rettgeri is a gram negative bacillus that is part of the genus Providencia and a member of the family Enterobacteriaceae. P. rettgeri and the other species in this genus are found in animal reservoirs, soil, water, and sewage (Charbek). The species in this genus are also responsible for human infections in the urinary tract, and they are also associated with gastroenteritis and bacteremia (Charbek). The first species in this genus was isolated by Rettger in 1904 when it was initially found in chickens in what was thought to be an epidemic in fowl cholera (Charbek). Since their discovery, species in this genus have undergone numerous taxonomic changes because they are closely related to species from the genera Proteus and

rettgeri has been isolated in crocodiles with meningitis/septicemia, and in chickens with enteritis. Human isolates of P. rettgeri have been found in the blood, urine, stool, throat, perineum, axilla, and in wound specimens (O’hara). A study conducted in 2001 concluded that P. rettgeri and its counterparts were found in 18% of patients with complicated urinary tract infections (Charbek). It has also been reported that one specific strain of P. rettgeri caused the death of at least one individual who had a urinary tract infection (O’hara). P. rettgeri is also capable of causing nosocomial infections. In 1976, an outbreak of this bacteria affected 127 patients over a 22 month period in a hospital in Tennessee (O’hara). In addition, P. rettgeri has been known to cause ocular infections such as keratitis, conjunctivitis, and