The characterization of multidrug resistant type 1 S-fimbriated Escherichia coli from women with recurrent urinary tract infections (RUTIS) in Bangladesh

Abstract

Background: Escherichia coli is a bacterial species that is most frequently associated with urinary tract infections (UTIs) worldwide. Recurrent UTIs (RUTIs) pose a major threat to health, especially in women. However, studies on the pathogenic potentials of E. coli isolates associated with RUTIs has yet to be done. The present study was designed to characterize the isolates of E. coli from women, suffering from repeated UTIs in Bangladesh.
Methods: A total of 15 isolates of E. coli, collected from women with RUTIs in the Sylhet city of Bangladesh, were analyzed by a series of biochemical and molecular tests.
Results: The PCR amplification of the mannose-resistant type 1 S-fimbriae gene (sfa1) confirmed all sfa1+ isolates of E. coli. In an antibiogram assay, all the isolates of E. coli were found to be completely resistant to at least five of the ten commercial antibiotics and drug resistance were found to be correlated with the weight of the RUTIs patient. Analysis of the 16S rRNA data of the two most drug-resistant and clinically significant isolates were found to be clustered with the drug-resistant UTI-causing E. coli isolates, circulated in India.
Conclusions: This study could pave the way of RUTIs diagnosis and treatment strategy for women in Bangladesh.

Keywords: RUTIs; E. coli; sfa1; multidrug-resistant isolates; 16S rRNA gene sequencing; correlation analysis.