Name: Hafnia alvei Møller 1954 (Approved Lists 1980)

Category: Species

Proposed as: sp. nov.

Etymology: al’ve.i. L. gen. masc. n. alvei, of a beehive

Gender: feminine

Type strain: ATCC 13337; CCUG 41547; CIP 57.31; DSM 30163; HAMBI 1279; HAMBI 1876; JCM 1666; LMG 10392; NBIMCC 1229; NCTC 8105; NRRL B-4260

See detailed strain information at

Conduct genome-based taxonomy at

16S rRNA gene: M59155 Analyse FASTA

Effective publication: Moller V. Distribution of amino acid decarboxylases in Enterobacteriaceae. Acta Pathol Microbiol Scand 1954; 35:259-277.

IJSEM list: Skerman VBD, McGowan V, Sneath PHA. Approved lists of bacterial names. Int J Syst Bacteriol 1980; 30:225-420.

Nomenclatural status: validly published under the ICNP

Taxonomic status: correct name

Risk group: 2

• Notes:
  • 🥇 Nomenclatural type of the genus Hafnia Møller 1954 (Approved Lists 1980). Publication: Moller V. Distribution of amino acid decarboxylases in Enterobacteriaceae. Acta Pathol Microbiol Scand 1954; 35:259-277.
  • 😷 The risk group for Canada has been imported on 2024-02-27. The full classification is: risk group = 2, note = "default: 2 Animal classification RG: 2 - Security sensitive biological agent: No - Terrestrial animal pathogen under Canadian Food Inspection Agency authority: No - Containment level: Containment Level 2; hybridization group: 1 Animal classification RG: 1 - Security sensitive biological agent: No - Terrestrial animal pathogen under Canadian Food Inspection Agency authority: No - Containment level: Containment Level 1". — The risk group for Swiss Confederation has been imported on 2024-02-01. The full classification is: risk group = 2. — The risk group for Germany has been imported on 2023-10-29. The full classification is: risk group = 2.
  • 🎓 Name mentioned 544 times in PubMed until 2024-03-27.
  • 🧍 According to Bartlett et al. (2022), this species is an established human pathogen. Publication: Bartlett A, Padfield D, Lear L, Bendall R, Vos M. A comprehensive list of bacterial pathogens infecting humans. Microbiology 2022; 168:0.
  • 🧍 The strains of "Hafnia alvei-like", isolated from cases of diarrhoeal disease by the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research Branch (ICDDRB) in Bangladesh, are now known as Escherichia albertii Huys et al. 2003. — Despite close phenotypic similarities, there are at least two distinct DNA-DNA hybridisation groups (HG) in Hafnia. The type strain (ATCC 13337 NCTC 8105) falls in Group 1 (along with reference strain ATCC 29926), leaving Group 2 (containing strain ATCC 29927) unnamed. Similarly, there are two groups within Obesumbacterium proteus; these are separable by biochemical characters and DNA-DNA hybridisation. However, despite having distinct phenotypic differences, Obesumbacterium proteus group 1 (type strain ATCC 12841) is 75% related to DNA group 1 of Hafnia alvei (though only 52% related to DNA group 2 of Hafnia alvei); these two organisms are thus a single species, Hafnia alvei. This leaves two separate unnamed groups (Hafnia alvei HG2 and Obesumbacterium proteus HG2) that are not closely related. In April 2010, Priest and Barker validly publish the name Shimwellia pseudoproteus for Obesumbacterium proteus HG2 strains. In July 2010, Huys et al. validly publish the name Hafnia paralvei for Hafnia alvei HG2 strains. Publication: Priest FG, Barker M. Gram-negative bacteria associated with brewery yeasts: reclassification of Obesumbacterium proteus biogroup 2 as Shimwellia pseudoproteus gen. nov., sp. nov., and transfer of Escherichia blattae to Shimwellia blattae comb. nov. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2010; 60:828-833.

Parent taxon: Hafnia Møller 1954 (Approved Lists 1980)

Assigned by: Moller V. Distribution of amino acid decarboxylases in Enterobacteriaceae. Acta Pathol Microbiol Scand 1954; 35:259-277.

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Record number: 776651