Antibiotic resistance properties of uropathogenic Escherichia coli isolated from pregnant women with history of recurrent urinary tract infections

Purpose: To investigate the antibiotic resistance pattern of uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) strains isolated from pregnant women with history of recurrent urinary tract infections (RUTIs) and healthy pregnant women.Methods: A total of 485 high vaginal swab specimens were collected from pregnant women with history of RUTIs and healthy ones. Samples were cultured and those that were E. coli positive were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and disk diffusion tests.Results: Twenty eight out of 445 (6.29 %) samples were positive for E. coli. Prevalence of E. coli in pregnant women with history of RUTIs and healthy ones were 9 and 4.08 %, respectively. Women older than 40 years were the most commonly infected. UPEC strains showed the highest levels of resistance against ampicillin (96.42 %), tetracycline (85.71 %), amikacin (71.42 %), ciprofloxacin (67.85 %) and gentamycin (58.71 %).Conclusion: RUTIs and pregnancy in old age are two important risk factors for transmission of UPEC strains from the urinary tract into the vagina. Primary treatment of infected pregnant women with imipenem, mezlocillin and nitrofurantoin would be effective for the prevention and management of vaginal infections in pregnant women.Keywords: Uropathogenic Escherichia coli, Recurrent urinary tract infections, Antibiotic resistance, Pregnant wome

Virulence factor diversity between imipenem resistant and imipenem susceptible strains of Escherichia coli isolated from hospitalized patients with severe urinary tract infections

From a clinical perspective, it is imperative to discern the differences in the distribution of virulence factors between imipenem resistant and imipenem susceptible strains of uropathogenic Escherichia coli isolated from hospitalized patients. The present study was carried out to find this purpose. One-hundred and sixty urine specimens of children and seniors were collected from the Educational Hospital of Tehran, Iran. The urine samples were cultured immediately and those that were E. coli-positive were analyzed for the antimicrobial susceptibility pattern against imipenem using disk diffusion method. Imipenem resistant and imipenem susceptible strains were analyzed for the presence of sfa, afa, pap, hly, cnf 1 and fim virulence factors using the PCR technique. Fifty out of 70 (71.42) children urines and 55 out of 90 (61.11) seniors urine samples harbored E. coli. The incidence of resistance against imipenem in children and seniors were 6 and 9.09, respectively. In the other hand, 99.39 of tested strains were susceptible to imipenem. Total prevalence of pap, cnf 1, hly, sfa, afa and fim genes in the imipenem resistant strains were 12.5 25, 50, 75, 62.5 and 25, respectively. Prevalence of the sfa, afa and hly genes was lower in the imipenem susceptible strains of E. coli, while the pap, cnf 1 and fim genes was entirely higher in the imipenem susceptible strains. This finding suggests that imipenem resistance could be directly associated with decreased prevalence of pap, cnf 1 and fim virulent genes. However, the findings of the present study are novel and valuable but more courtesy studies are necessary to authorize them

Detection of virulence factors of Uropathoigenic Escherichia coli isolates from infertile women high vaginal swabs

Objectives: The uropathogenic Escherichia coli as a most common cause of urinary tract infections can transmit to the reproductive system. Their various virulence factors cause adhesion, invasion and damage to reproductive epithelium. This study was carried out in order to detection of virulence factors of uropathogenic Escherichia coli isolates from infertile women high vaginal swabs. Materials & Methods: Totally, 70 and 30 high vaginal swabs were taken from infertile and fertile women, respectively. All swabs were cultured and the positive samples were studied for the presence of uropathogenic virulence genes using PCR method. Results: Thirteen out of seventy swabs samples were positive for E. coli (18.57%). There were no E. coli bacteria in fertile women. Eight of the positive samples were from infertile women with the history of urinary tract infections (61.53%). The most commonly detected virulence genes were papGI (84.61%), set-1 (76.92%), papGII (61.53%), papGIII (53.84%) and sen (53.84%). Conclusion: The high vaginal Escherichia coli harbored certain virulence genes of uropathogenic Escherichia coli strains. The urinary tract infections should be treated well to diminish its upstream transfer into vagina. Some more investigation should be perform for identifying the epidemiological aspects of uropathogenic Escherichia coli in high vaginal part of infertile women

Helicobacter pylori in Vegetables and Salads: Genotyping and Antimicrobial Resistance Properties

From a clinical and epidemiological perspective, it is important to know which genotypes and antibiotic resistance patterns are present in H. pylori strains isolated from salads and vegetables. Therefore, the present investigation was carried out to find this purpose. Three hundred eighty washed and unwashed vegetable samples and fifty commercial and traditional salad samples were collected from Isfahan, Iran. Samples were cultured and those found positive for H. pylori were analyzed using PCR. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed using disk diffusion method. Seven out of 50 (14%) salad and 52 out of 380 (13.68%) vegetable samples harbored H. pylori. In addition, leek, lettuce, and cabbage were the most commonly contaminated samples (30%). The most prevalent virulence genes were oipA (86.44%) and cagA (57.625). VacA s1a (37.28%) and iceA1 (47.45%) were the most prevalent genotypes. Forty different genotypic combinations were recognized. S1a/cagA+/iceA1/oipA+ (33.89%), s1a/cagA+/iceA2/oipA (30.50%), and m1a/cagA+/iceA1/oipA+ (28.81%) were the most prevalent combined genotypes. Bacterial strains had the highest levels of resistance against metronidazole (77.96%), amoxicillin (67.79%), and ampicillin (61.01%). High similarity in the genotyping pattern of H. pylori among vegetable and salad samples and human specimens suggests that vegetable and salads may be the sources of the bacteria