Abstract

Leclercia adecarboxylata is a gram negative, motile, facultative-anaerobic, oxidase-negative, mesophilic bacillus belonging to the Enterobacteriaceae family. L. adecarboxylatawas first described by H. Leclerc in 1962, and previously known as “Enteric group 410” or “Escherichia adecarboxylata”, since Leclercia spp. shares several structural and microbiological properties with the genus Escherichia. Due to those similarities, L. adecarboxylatainfections might be more common than what believed so far, since past clinical cases might have been erroneously defined as Escherichia spp. infections. L. adecarboxylatais a member of the normal gut flora in animals, has been isolated from water, food, and other environmental sources, can be found in a variety of specimens and is involved in a wide range of clinical syndromes commonly related to immunocompromised hosts. Although most of Leclercia spp isolates show high susceptibility to antibiotics, some multi-resistant strains have been reported in literature. Here, we narratively review the most original and relevant articles available in literature to provide a state of art to the current knowledge of this emerging pathogen.

Keywords: Leclercia adecarboxylata; Emerging pathogen; Infection; Treatment; Resistance; Multi-drug resistant