Genotyping of Virulence Factors of Uropathogenic Escherichia coli by PCR

Abstract

<strong>Background:</strong><em> </em><em>Escherichia coli</em> is the most causative agent of urinary tract infections (UTIs). Apart from all human infectious diseases, UTI have a high prevalence and in most cases, <em>Escherichia coli </em>is a dominance bacterium which can cause pyelonephritis and cystitis. The aim of the study was to determine the occurrence of some virulence genes expressing fimbriae, production of hemolysin and aerobactin among a hundred <em>Escherichia coli</em> isolates obtained from in-and outpatients of Karaj Shahid Rajaii hospital, showing clinical and laboratory signs of UTI. <strong>M</strong><strong>aterials and Methods: </strong>In this investigation we isolated <em>Escherichia coli</em> strains from urine samples of patients with UTI during the period of July to December 2012 and studied them for the presence of the virulence genes by PCR. <strong>R</strong><strong>es</strong><strong>ults</strong><strong> and Conclusion</strong><strong>: </strong>The most abundant virulence factor in this study was <em>fimH</em>. The prevalence of the virulence factors for fimbriae type 1 (<em>fimH</em> gene), pyelonephritis associated pili (<em>pap</em> gene), S-family adhesions (<em>sfa</em> gene), hemolysin (<em>hly</em> gene) and aerobactin (<em>aer</em> gene), was 73%, 46%, 32%, 47%, 57%, respectively.