Abstract
Background. Escherichia coli bacteria are Gram-negative, non-spore-forming aerobes or facultative anaerobic rods. Some strains are pathogenic in men while others are commensals in the gut. The pathogenic strains cause a wide array of diseases by virtue of virulence factors. The commensal strains are generally categorized into phylogenetic groups A and B1. The aim of this study was to determine the association between phylogeny of E. coli isolates and virulence and sociodemographic characteristics of the study subjects. Method. This study was a cross-sectional study carried out from July 2018 to June 2019. E. coli isolates obtained from different clinical specimens were subjected to polymerase chain reaction to determine their phylogenetic groupings and virulence. Results. The majority of the isolates belonged to phylogroup A 101 (74.8%), and the predominant virulent gene was fimA (88.9%). There was no significant correlation between phylogenicity and virulence, except for chuA which was found in all isolates that belonged to phylogroups clade I and D. None of the 101 isolates that belonged to group A had the chuA virulence gene. There was a significant association between patient age category and phylogenetic groups B1 and D. Conclusions. This study assessed the relationship between the phylogenetic distribution and the virulence profile of clinical isolates of E. coli. The virulence of isolates belonging to phylogroup A, which are generally considered as commensals, is alarming. Measures must therefore be put in place to control the spread of these virulent E. coli.
Highlights
Escherichia coli bacteria are Gram-negative facultative anaerobic rods
A total of 135 clinical isolates of E. coli were recovered from the various clinical specimens of patients who visited the Ho Teaching Hospital for medical care
Our study reported that most of the uropathogenic E. coli belongs to phylogenetic group A
Summary
Escherichia coli bacteria are Gram-negative facultative anaerobic rods. They are non-spore-forming and possess peritrichous flagella for motility. The degree of pathogenicity of extraintestinal E. coli isolates depends on the presence of fimbriae adhesins (fimA, sfa/foc, and yfcV) which are virulent factors responsible for adherence. Siderophores (ferric aerobactin receptor (iutA), Yersiniabactin receptor (fyuA)) function to sequester iron from the host Another virulence factor is the cytotoxic necrotizing factor (cnf1) which is implicated in tissue damage and dysfunction of a local immune response [5]. Escherichia coli bacteria are Gram-negative, non-spore-forming aerobes or facultative anaerobic rods. E. coli isolates obtained from different clinical specimens were subjected to polymerase chain reaction to determine their phylogenetic groupings and virulence. None of the 101 isolates that belonged to group A had the chuA virulence gene. Measures must be put in place to control the spread of these virulent E. coli
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