Phylogenic characterization and antimicrobial resistance pattern of E.coli strains isolated from patients with urinary tract infection

Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) refers to strains of E.coli bacteria that specifically cause urinary tract infections (UTIs). UPEC is the most common cause of UTIs, accounting for approximately 80-90% of all cases. Treatment for UPEC UTIs typically involves a course of antibiotics, commonly prescribed antibiotics include trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, nitrofurantoin, and fluoroquinolones. Within the presented research, we studied 90 E. coli strains isolated during urinary-genital system infections and to determine the pathogroup, we tested each strain for the presence of uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) specific genes. Of the 90 strains, 81 were identified as UPEC, interestingly, 29 strains had all three genes c3509, c3686 (yrbH) and chuA present, while 22 strains contained only one of the three genes. The majority of isolated UPEC strains belonged to B2-group -54 strains, and strains representing A, B1, F and clade I/II groups were also identified. 12 out of 90 strains could not be grouped. Antibiotic susceptibility testing of isolated bacteria showed that complete resistance to antibiotics was rare, only 2 strains showed resistance to 6 of the antibiotics, but retained sensitivity to nitrofuranthion. The results show that the strains isolated in Georgia in March-May 2022 are not characterized by broad antibiotic resistance, which is most important to those antibiotics that are prescribed for urological infections, only 3-3 of the 90 strains isolated from genitourinary system infections was found to be resistant but none of these strains were resistant to both antibiotics simultaneously.