Virulence Factors Associated With Escherichia coli Bacteremia and Urinary Tract Infection

BACKGROUND: (ExPEC) causes various infections, including urinary tract infection (UTI), sepsis, and neonatal meningitis. ExPEC strains have virulence factors (VFs) that facilitate infection by allowing bacterial cells to migrate into and multiply within the host. We compared the microbiological characteristics of ExPEC isolates from blood and urine specimens from UTI patients. METHODS: isolates for the presence of bacterial genes encoding the sequence types (STs), antimicrobial resistance, and VFs using whole-genome sequencing (WGS). RESULTS: <0.05). CONCLUSIONS: isolates from UTI patients. ST131 was the most frequent ST among UTI causing isolates and carried more VF genes than non-ST131 isolates.