Read condition-specific symptoms and clinical context for Klebsiella pneumoniae. A gut resident that turns opportunist in healthcare settings, and a focus of carbapenem-resistance concern.
CDC describes Klebsiella as bacteria normally found in human stool, where they do not cause disease, and states that healthy people usually do not get Klebsiella infections. In healthcare settings the same organism causes pneumonia, bloodstream infections, wound or surgical site infections and meningitis, most often in patients already being treated for other conditions. PHAC records carriage in stool for roughly a third of people, with detection between 5 and 36%, and describes non-motile, usually encapsulated rods. Some strains resist carbapenems, an antibiotic group CDC calls often the last line of defence.
One possible infection setting for this organism. These are general syndrome symptoms, not signs that identify the bacterium. Other infection sites can present differently.
Possible symptoms: Cough or breathlessness; Fever or chills; Pain with breathing or coughing.
Contact a healthcare professional about suspected pneumonia.
Presence at a normal body site does not by itself establish disease.
No infection symptoms are assigned to ordinary carriage. Clinical assessment distinguishes colonization from infection.
This app cannot determine whether a person has an infection.
Source check: 2026-09-19. Educational content; independent scientific review remains pending.