Virulence characteristics of Escherichia coli strains causing asymptomatic bacteriuria

Abstract

Background: The objective of this study was to examine the expression of Escherichia coli virulence-associated factors among the strains isolated from a group of women with a history of recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs), in whom asymptomatic bacteriuria (ABU) was detected at follow-up, and from a group of children without a history of previous UTI, in whom ABU was detected during the screening. Possible differences between the virulence potential of these strains were investigated.

Materials and methods: Hemolysin production, the ability to adhere to Buffalo green monkey cell line and hemagglutination (HA) ability of the ABU-associated E. coli strains were tested. E. coli strains isolated from patients with acute recurrent UTIs served as a comparison.

Results: The well-known low virulence of strains isolated from patients with ABU was demonstrated. In contrast to strains isolated from recurrent uncomplicated UTIs, the ABU-associated strains were mostly nonhemolytic (75%), nonadherent (70%) and lacked HA ability (61%). HA ability was significantly more common among the strains isolated from children without a history of UTI than among the strains isolated from women with recurrent UTIs (chi2 = 9.97, p < 0.01), whereas the adherence and hemolytic abilities did not differ between the two ABU groups.

Conclusion: A further prospective study is needed to determine whether the HA ability is the predictor of subsequent symptomatic UTI.