Virulence Genes Profile of Escherichia coli Isolated from Urinary Catheterized and Non-Catheterized Patients

The severity of UTI produced by E. coli is due to the expression of a wide spectrum of virulence factors. In this study the role of E. coli virulence determinants in the pathogenesis of UTI in urinary catheterized and non-catheterized patients has been evaluated. The isolates were recovered from 129 patients admitted to the hospital. Virulence genes of E. coli were detected by polymerase chain reaction analysis for the prevalence of these virulence factors. The targeted genetic determinants were those coding for Type 1 fimbriae, Pyelonephritis-Associated Pili (PAP), Antigen 43 (Ag43), α-Hemolysin and Aerobactin siderophores among the studied isolates. The prevalence of genes fimH, papC, ang43, hlyA and iutA were 88.37%, 72.09%, 18.60%, 51.16% and 79.06% respectively. The fimH gene with 88.37% had a highest prevalence of virulence genes in patients with UTIs. Statistically in the present study, there was no significant difference in the prevalence of genes profiles of E. coli isolates causing UTI in non-catheterized and catheterized patients. However, all the studied strains exhibited 16 virulence gene patterns; among the strains isolated from patients with urinary catheter showed multitude and greatest diversity of genes patterns than strains from non-catheterized patients.