Background: The dissemination of the uropathogenic O25b-ST131
Escherichia coli clone constitutes a threat to public health. We aimed to determine the circulation of
E. coli strains belonging to O25b:H4-B2-ST131 and the
H30-Rx epidemic subclone causing hospital and community-acquired urinary tract infections (UTI)
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Background: The dissemination of the uropathogenic O25b-ST131
Escherichia coli clone constitutes a threat to public health. We aimed to determine the circulation of
E. coli strains belonging to O25b:H4-B2-ST131 and the
H30-Rx epidemic subclone causing hospital and community-acquired urinary tract infections (UTI) in Colombia. Methods: Twenty-six nonduplicate, CTX-M group-1-producing isolates causing UTI in the hospital and community were selected for this study. Results: Twenty-two
E. coli isolates harboring CTX-M-15, one CTX-M-3, and three CTX-M-55 were identified. Multilocus Sequence Typing (MLST) showed a variety of sequence types (STs), among which, ST131, ST405, and ST648 were reported as epidemic clones. All the
E. coli ST131 sequences carried CTX-M-15, from which 80% belonged to the O25b:H4-B2 and
H30-Rx pandemic subclones and were associated with virulence factors
iss,
iha, and
sat.
E. coli isolates (23/26) were resistant to ciprofloxacin and associated with amino acid substitutions in quinolone resistance-determining regions (QRDR). We detected two carbapenem-resistant
E. coli isolates, one coproducing CTX-M-15, KPC-2, and NDM-1 while the other presented mutations in
ompC. Additionally, one isolate harbored the gene
mcr-1. Conclusions: Our study revealed the circulation of the
E. coli ST131, O25b:H4-B2-
H30-Rx subclone, harboring CTX-M-15, QRDR mutations, and other resistant genes. The association of the
H30-Rx subclone with sepsis and rapid dissemination warrants attention from the public health and infections control.
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