[Hydrophobic properties of Enterobacter spp. rods].

Enterobacter sp. is one of the important factors of hospital infections, especially at patients in intensive care, surgical and transplant units and cell surface hydrophobicity (CSH) plays an important role in the pathogenicity of many bacterial. Because of the increase of these bacteria in the infections, the aims of this study were the assessment of CSH of Enterobacter sp. strains on the basis of two methods: salt aggregation test (SAT) and bacterial adhesion to hydrocarbons (BATH). 175 strains of Enterobacter sp. were examinated in the study. The CSH was detected in 19.4% to 22.8% strains analysed by SAT method and in 41.1% to 42.3% strains analysed by BATH method, depending on culture media used. Hydrophobic properties were more often observed in case of strains from urine (41.6% and 44.6% depending on culture media used), wound swabs (24.3% and 25.0%) and from tracheal secretions (12.1% and 13.8%) which came from patients of clinics: Intensive Care Unit, Urology Clinic, General Surgery and Endocrinology Clinic, General and Vascular Surgery Clinic and Nephrology Clinic.