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Molecular characterisation of Escherichia coli isolated from hospitalised children and adults with urinary tract infection
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Molecular characterisation of Escherichia coli isolated from hospitalised children and adults with urinary tract infection

Tara L Vollmerhausen and Mohammad Katouli
European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology, Vol.33(6), pp.975-982
2014
url
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-013-2035-1View
Published Version

Abstract

urinary tract infection (UTI) escherichia coli children
Urinary tract infection (UTI) is common amongst children and recurs in 10-30 % of cases. The differences between Escherichia coli strains causing UTI among hospitalised children and adults remains to be fully elucidated. Here, we examined the genetic relatedness and virulence gene (VG) profiles of a collection of E. coli causing UTI among hospitalised children and adults. Genetic relatedness among the strains was investigated using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis and the strains were characterised using a combination of phylogenetic grouping, the ability to form biofilm and the presence of antigen 43 (Ag43) and its five known alleles, as well 20 VGs associated with uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC). RAPD analysis resolved six major clusters, with two clusters (A and B) consisting almost exclusively of E. coli isolated from children. Isolates from children had a higher prevalence of alpha-haemolysin (hlyA, p less than 0.05) and group II capsular polysaccharide synthesis genes (kpsMT II, p less than 0.01) than adults. In contrast, E. coli strains from adults had a higher prevalence of invasive ibeA (p less than 0.05) and Ag43 (agn43) (p less than 0.05) genes, and produced significantly (p less than 0.001) more biofilm than E. coli from children. Adult isolates also carried significantly (p less than 0.05) more agn43 allele RS218 compared to isolates from children, which carried significantly (p less than 0.05) more of the agn43 allele bCFT073. Our results suggest that bacterial virulence factors play an important role in UTI among hospitalised children; however, further research will determine whether these findings apply to a larger cohort and other clinical settings for UTI in children and adults.

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Infectious Diseases
Microbiology

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