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The Miracle of Bolsena is depicted on the walls of the Vatican in this painting by Raphael.

The German priest Peter of Prague is shown breaking bread for communion at the Church of Saint Christina in Bolsena, Italy.

Imagine Peter's surprise when he broke the communion wafer and saw it had blood on it!

The bread had truly become Jesus' flesh!

Serratia marcescens

  • General information

    • the following information is not yet verified
      Taxonomy
      Family: Enterobacteriaceae genus: S. marcescens
      2 subsp.- S. marcescens ssp marcescens
      - S. marcescens ssp sakuensis
      S. odorifera
      S. liquefaciens group
      - S. liquefaciens
      - S. grimesii

      S. plymuthica
      and S. rubidiaea (red pigment, rarely from clinical material)

      Not pathogenic
      S. entomophila, S. ficaria, S. fonticola, S. proteamaculans, S. quinivorans, S.ureilytica

      Natural habitats
      They are widely distributed in nature. Isolated from water, soil, foods.

      Clinical significance
      Serratia ssp are notorious health care-associated pathogens and colonizers

      Transmission is predomiately from person to person, but medical apparatuses, intravenous fluid, and other solutions are often implicated as well.

      In children, the gastrointestinal tract is a common source of infections.

      Pigment
      Production in S. marcescens appears to be a marker that the strain is environmental in origin and of low virulence.

  • Gram stain

    • the following information is not yet verified
      Gram negative straight coccoid rods

      0.5-0.8 x 0.9-2.0 μm,

      some strains are capsulated

  • Culture characteristics

    • the following information is not yet verified

      Facultative anaerobic

      BA: colonies are 1-3 mm, circular, shiny, opaque, creamwhite and smooth with an entire margin.
      Some strains have a capsule

      Pigment production is variable and not all strains produce it, pink (pyrimine), red (prodigiosine).

      McConkey: growth, non lactose fermenter

      BBAØ: growth

      Smell: Serratia can spread a fish-like urine air.

  • Characteristics

  • References

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