200 urine samples were collected from patients expected to have urinary tract infections. E. coli was identified in 41 positive cultures which showed bacterial growth. Sensitivity tests indicated that Ciprofloxacin, Amikacin, and Naldixic acid were the most effective antibiotics and resistance percentage of E. coli isolates to these antibiotics were 5%, 5%, and 9.8% respectively; while Ampicillin, Cephalexin, and Erythromycin were not effective. Six E. coli isolates designated (EC5, EC16, EC30, EC31, EC35, and EC41) with multiple antibiotic resistance were found to show variation in respect of adherence to uroepithelial cells. Isolate EC5 showed the highest ability of adherence with the mean number of adhering bacteria equivalent to 34 bacteria per uroepithelial cell. Plasmid curing experiments showed that isolates (EC16, EC30, and EC35) lost their antibiotic resistance determinants of Cotrimoxazole, Gentamicin, Naldixic acid, Tetracycline, and Ciprofloxacin, indicating that resistance to these antibiotics are under plasmid control, whereas Ampicillin, Cephalexin, Erythromycin, and Cefotaxime resistant determinants were not affected as well as the ability for adherence to uroepithelial cells.
E. coli, Antibiotic resistance, Adherence, Uroepithelial cells, Plasmid
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