Determination of uropathogenic virulence-associated genes in Escherichia coli isolated from patients with urinary tract infection

Zahra Tayebi; Seyed Hamid Jamaldini ezabadi

Determination of uropathogenic virulence-associated genes in Escherichia coli isolated from patients with urinary tract infection

Joint Event on 14^th International Conference on Microbial Interactions & Microbial Ecology & 11^th Edition of International Conference on Advances in Microbiology and Public Health

August 19-20, 2019 Vienna, Austria

Zahra Tayebi and Seyed Hamid Jamaldini ezabadi

Islamic Azad University Tehran Medical Sciences, Iraq

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Med Microb Diagn

Abstract :

Background: A urinary tract infection (UTIs) is the most common infection among community and hospitalized patients in the developing countries. Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) isolates are major cause of UTIs and may be responsible for nearly 90% of UTIs. UPEC isolates express a range of virulence traits promoting effective colonization of urinary tract.

Aim: The current work was conducted to determine pap (pyelonephritis associated pili), sfa (S fimbrial adhesin) and aer (aerobactin) genes in E. coli strains isolated from patients with urinary tract infection, who referred to public hospitals of Sirjan city (Kerman, Iran), between December 2016 and June 2017.

Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 217 urine samples from the patients infected with UTI were examined. Microbiological culture media such as blood agar and MacConkey agar were used for pathogen isolation. Identification of E. coli was done by standard biochemical tests. Also, susceptibility testing was performed using the disk diffusion method in line with Clinical Laboratory and Standard Institute. Then, DNA extraction was performed from all strains and PCR assay was conducted for the presence of virulence genes including pap, sfa and aer.

Results: Totally, 105 E. coli strains were isolated from 217 urine samples of patients admitted to the public hospitals of Sirjan city (Kerman, Iran). Eighty-four (80 %) strains were isolated from female patients and 21 (20 %) from male patients. A significant difference was found between the occurrence of UPEC in female and male patients (P <.05). According to the molecular analyses, aer (32.38%) was the most prevalent among the E. coli isolates, followed by pap and sfa (10.47%, and 8.57%, respectively).

Conclusion: In conclusion, the prevalence of multiple virulence genes show the potential to adhere and subsequently cause a systemic infection among UTIs patients. Further studies are needed to determine UPEC virulent factors responsible for UTI.