Virulence characteristics and antimicrobial susceptibility of uropathogenic Escherichia coli strains

Eight virulence factors associated with uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) were investigated in 204 clinical isolates of E. coli recovered from urine cultures at counts ≥10(5). The bacteria were classified into two groups according to the number of leukocytes in urine samples from which they were isolated: group I ≤8 leukocytes/hpf, 104 strains; group II >8 leukocytes/hpf, 100 strains. Two multiplex PCR systems were used to detect genes encoding adhesin P (pap), adhesin S (sfa), afimbrial adhesin I (afa), siderophore aerobactin (aer), alpha-hemolysin (hly), cytotoxic necrotizing factor type 1 (cnf1), and traT associated with serum resistance. The PAI marker for the virulence island identified in strains CFT072 and CVD432, a marker of enteroaggregative E. coli, was also investigated using PCR. The susceptibility profile of E. coli strains was determined by disk diffusion method. Ninety percent UPEC showed at least one of the virulence genes, the prevalence being traT (76%), aer (41%), PAI (32%), sfa (26%), pap (25%), cnf1 (18%), afa (6%), and hly (5%). There was no significant difference in the distribution of virulence genes between groups I and II. A significantly higher degree of virulence was detected in UPEC group II. The CVD432 gene was not detected in any of the UPECs. Fifty-nine percent of the strains were resistant to at least one of the antimicrobials that we tested; the most common being resistance to ampicillin (51%) and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (44%).