Evaluation of Uropathogenic Virulence Genes in Escherichia coli Isolated from Children with Urinary Tract Infection

Background: Urinary tract infection is a major health problem. Escherichia coli (E. coli) is a major pathogen causing UTI. Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of different virulence genes among E. coli strains isolated from the urine of children with urinary tract infection (UTI), and to look at the correlation between the genetic virulence genes and the type of UTI. Method: The study included 91 isolates of E. coli isolated from children with urinary tract infection. Clinical isolates were subjected to study of virulence genes form, pap, sofa/foc, Ufa, holy, knife, and air by polymerase chain reaction and the formation of biofilm. The results: Regarding virulence genes in E. coli, the most prevalent genes were adhesions genes fimH (65.9%), pap (63.7%), sfa (56%) and afa (54.9%) followed by genes coding for toxin production aer (53.8%) and hly (53.8%) and iron binding gene cnf (42.9%). Biofilm formation was found in 20.9% of isolated E. coli. There was statistically significant formation of biofilm among E. coli associated with acute pyelonephritis (p=0. 01) compared to that of E. coli associated with acute cystitis. Conclusion In conclusion, our study demonstrated that virulence genes are common among E. coli strains causing urinary tract infection. The adhesion genes fimH, sfa and afa are the most common among those uropathogenic E. coli strains. Biofilm formation is another virulence factor associated with uropathogenic E. coli and increased mainly in E. coli strains causing pyelonephritis. Further studies are needed to identify E. coli virulence factors responsible for UTI and to determine the physiopathology of these infections to consider possible prevention measures and means.