Commensal strains of E. coli involved in infections in patients at the Hospital Juarez de Mexico

Background: Escherichia coli is a microorganism that causes community and health care-associated infections.Infection rates for this microorganism have increased in several countries.Another problem that adds to E. coli infections is the presence of isolates antibiotic resistance mechanisms.Objectives: Work aims to describe the characteristics of E. coli isolates involved in infections in patients of the Hospital Júarez de México.Methods: A population of 34 patients (January to September 2021) from Hospital Juarez de Mexico was included in the study.Antimicrobial susceptibility testing and β-lactamase phenotypic detection of E. coli isolates from confirmed infections were performed.Resistance phenotypes were confirmed by polymerase chain reaction.The clonal association of the isolates was performed by analysis of the intergenic regions obtained, and finally, the phylogenetic association was performed by the Clermont algorithm.Results: E. coli isolates were mainly involved in urinary tract infections, extended-spectrum β-lactamase, carbapenemases, and class 1 integrons were detected.The strains were grouped particularly into commensal phylogroups, and clonality analysis revealed genetic diversity.Conclusion: Characterization analyses of E. coli isolates causing extraintestinal infections revealed a great genetic diversity, these isolates were mainly grouped in commensal strains, were B-lactamase producers, and presented Class 1 integrons.