Investigation of virulence factor genes and biofilm formation in uropathogenic E.coli isolates

The most common cause of urinary tract infections (UTI) is uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) and is an important public health problem. In this thesis study, antibiotic sensitivity, presence of virulence genes and biofilm formation capacity of E.coli isolates isolated from urinary tract infection were investigated. The isolates, 52.2% cefepime, 85.5% amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, 53.3% ceftazidime, 26.6% nitrofurontoin, 56.6% cefixime, 37.7% gentamicin, 53.3% cefotaxime, 32.2% cefoxitin, 55.5% cefuroxime, 44.4% piperacillin/tazobactam, 93.3%. ampicillin , 37.7% ceftriaxone, 48.8% tobramycin, 28.8% fosfomycin, 61.1% ciprofloxacin, 64.4% levofloxacin, 58.8% sulfamethoxasal/trimethoprim, 90% ampicillin/sulbactam, 24.4% amikacin, 16.6% meropenem, 15.5% ertapenem and 16.6%. imipenem were found to be resistant. The presence of virulence factor genes (sfa, pap, hly, cnf, aer, afa and fim) was investigated in 90 E.coli. According to the total obtained, the presence of virulence factor genes was observed in a total of 86 strains. The highest rate of fim (92.2%) virulence factor gene was detected in the strains. 30% Aer, 28.8% Afa, 13% pap, 13% cnf, 3.3% sfa, 2.2% hly virulence factor genes were seen among the strains. Also, 13 different virulence factor gene patterns were determined in 90 E.coli isolates. The biofilm-forming capacity of 90 clinical E.coli isolates were evaluated and it was determined that 42 strains formed biofilm. It was observed that 26 (28.8%) of the biofilm-forming strains had weak, 12 (13.3%) moderate and 4 (4.4%) strong biofilm-forming capacities. In addition, weak biofilm strains carry afa, aer, cnf, afa+pap, medium biofilm strains carry afa, aer and cnf, and strong biofilm strains carry afa, aer+pap, pap+sfa+cnf virulence factor genes. In conclusion, since urinary tract infection is an important public health problem, investigating antibiotic resistance, virulence factor genes and biofilm formation in bacterial pathogens associated with UTI is important for better treatment options.