Abstract

This study aimed to identify some important virulence factors, including pap, fim, sfa, aer and hly genes, typical of uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) in isolates collected from diarrheic and urinary tract infected patients in Khartoum State by multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. A total of 100 clinical specimens (50 urine and 50 diarrhea) were collected. Samples were cultured and identified by conventional method. Most study population were females 57/100 (57%); 42 suffering from urinary tract infections (UTIs) and 15 from diarrhea, while males were 43/100 (43%); 8 suffering from UTIs and 35 from diarrhea. Among enrolled subjects, 83 were positive for one or more uropathogenic E. coli virulent genes, while 17 isolates were negative for all genes. The results of multiplex PCR revealed that thirty two (n=32) diarrheal samples and fourteen (n=14) urine samples were aer positive. Thirty three (n=33) urine samples and eight (n=8) diarrheal samples appeared as fim positive. The genes pap and hly were found in 24 and 14 urine samples, respectively and in 9 and 3 diarrheal samples, respectively, while sfa gene was detected only in 15 urine specimens. The study concluded that fim gene was highly prevalent among UTI patients while aer gene was highly prevalent among diarrhea patients.

Key words: Uropathogenic Escherichia coli, fimH, aer, pap, sfa, hly, Sudan.