Distribution of virulence genes and multiple drug‐resistant patterns amongst different phylogenetic groups of uropathogenic <i>Escherichia coli</i> isolated from patients with urinary tract infection

Abstract

A total of 85 Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) isolates were screened against ceftiofur, oxacillin, nitrofurantoin and lincospectin using Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method, following CLSI guidelines. Prevalence of virulent factor genes amongst the isolates was determined by PCR, using gene-specific primers against the different virulent factors. Statistical analysis of the data was performed using SPSS software. The prevalence of traT, ompT, Iss, malX and ibeA genes was 47·1%, 38·8%, 20%, 16·5% and 9·4%, respectively. The most prevalent gene in group A and D was traT, whilst in group B2 was Iss. The highest resistance has been shown against oxacillin (98·8%), followed by ceftiofur (77·6%), whilst resistance to lincospectin (2·4%) and nitrofurantoin (12·9%) had the lowest frequencies. Multidrug resistance was shown in 82·35% of the isolates, whilst this study recommend lincospectin and nitrofurantoin as choice drugs for treatment, but more investigation of the bacterial pathogenicity associated with urinary tract infection (UTI) may contribute to a better medical intervention. Significance and Impact of the Study Due to differences in antimicrobial resistance pattern of UPEC isolates reported from different geographical regions, the obtained results regarding to antimicrobial susceptibility testing will help physicians, especially those who work in regional healthcare system, to utilize effective targeted antibiotic therapy for UTIs. In addition, the data collected from study of virulence genes can be useful for determining frequency of these genes to draw new targets for UPEC antibiotic independent therapies.