Enterobacterales is a group of bacteria that are highly resistant to antibiotics. These
organisms are a normal part of human intestinal bacteria but can become resistant to carbapenem
antibiotics. There are several species of bacteria within the Enterobacterales order, which
include, but are not limited to, Escherichia, Klebsiella, Enterobacter, Salmonella, Shigella,
Citrobacter and Yersinia. Many species of Enterobacterales are necessary
for digestion and are usually harmless when contained in the gut.
However, some of these bacteria produce enzymes called carbapenemases, which prevent antibiotics
from working on the bacteria. Bacteria that produce these enzymes are resistant to most types of
antibiotics.
