Cedecea is a genus of extremely rare bacteria of the family Enterobacteriaceae.[1] The name of this genus was derived from CDC, the abbreviation for the Centers for Disease Control where the initial members of this genus were discovered.[2] This genus resembles no other group of Enterobacteriaceae.[3] Cedecea bacteria are Gram-negative, bacillus in shape, motile, nonencapsulated, and non-spore-forming.[4] [5] The strains of Cedecea appear to be similar to those of Serratia. Both Cedecea and Serratia are lipase positive and resistant to colistin and cephalothin; however, Cedecea is unable to hydrolyze gelatin or DNA.[5] [6] [7] [8]
Cedecea bacteria were discovered in 1977 by a group of scientists at the CDC and were initially named “Enteric Group 15”.[3] [5] [6] [8] [9] In 1980, Patrick A. D. Grimont and Francine Grimont proposed the genus name of Cedecea for this group.[3] [5] [6] [8] [9] This particular name was given to "Enteric Group 15" for the abbreviation of the Center for Disease Control (CDC) where the group of bacteria was discovered.[3] At this time, six species have been identified.[9] Currently, three strains have been named while three remain unnamed.[3] [9]
Cedecea davisae was named after Betty Davis. Davis is an American bacteriologist who has contributed to serological and biochemical identification of Enterobacteriaceae and Vibrionaceae.[9]
Cedecea lapagei was named after Stephen Lapage, who is a British bacteriologist. Lapage has contributed to bacterial systematics as the editor of Bacteriological Code. Lapage has also made many contributions to the family Enterobacteriaceae.[9]
Cedecea neteri was named after Erwin Neter. Neter is an American microbiologist and physician. Like Davis and Lapage, Neter has contributed to the family Enterobacteriaceae.[9]
Cedecea strains are rarely isolated from the environment or living human tissues.[4] [8] However, strains have, at one or more times, been isolated from the following human specimen: sputum, blood, skin wounds, gall bladder, urine and lung tissue.[4] [5] [7] [8] These specimen were collected from a handful of patients who were elderly, medically compromised or immunocompromised.[4] [8] Even though these strains have been isolated, their role in disease and clinical significance is yet to be discovered.[8]
Patients who are infected with Cedecea can benefit from antibiotic therapy; however, this can be a challenge due to Cedecea strains being resistant to a range of antimicrobial agents.[4] [5] [8] Cedecea strains are resistant to the following antimicrobial agents: cephalothin, extended spectrium cephalosporins, colistin, and several aminoglycosides.[8]
Several members of the Entereobacteriaceae live in the intestines of other organisms, and Cedecea have been isolated in wild tsetse flies and cockroaches.[10] [11] In humans, Cedecea has been located in the blood and saliva, wounds and abscesses, and in ulcerated tissue.[12] [13] The bacteria has been isolated and a limited amount of samples have been taken. Although resistant to several antibiotics, Cedecea - along with several other bacteria - has been shown to be subject to high antibacterial activity from Bovine lactoperoxidase.[14]