Urinary Tract Infections Linked to E. Coli

antiquity · 10-05-2001, 12:33 AM

Urinary Tract Infections Linked to E. Coli

Oct. 4, 2001 (Ivanhoe Newswire) - Researchers have identified a specific, antibiotic-resistant strain of the bacteria E. coli may cause epidemic proportions of urinary tract infections in women.

The research, published in this week's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, pinpoints the previously unrecognized clonal group of multidrug-resistant E. coli, clonal group A. In a four-month study of women at a university health service in California, 51 percent of community-acquired urinary tract infections were caused by this clonal group. Similarly high numbers of women at university health centers in Michigan and Minnesota reported urinary tract infections caused by this clonal group (38 percent and 39 percent, respectively). Further, researchers found this clonal group A contributed substantially not only to drug resistant urinary tract infections, but to urinary tract infections in general.

Urinary tract infections strike 11 percent of women in the United States each year at least once, and the lifetime probability that a woman will have a urinary tract infection is 60 percent. While treatment of the infections with common drugs is often effective, the increasing incidence of infections caused by strains of E. coli that are resistant to these drugs has made urinary tract infections more difficult to treat.

While the typical cause of urinary tract infections has been organisms in the patient's own body, transmission between sex partners and household members has been reported. Researchers also note since clonal group A was found in fecal samples of healthy members of the university community in California, the consumption of contaminated foods may be a link to stopping the spread of these particular urinary tract infections.

Lead study author Amee R. Manges, M.P.H., says, "Additional studies are needed to establish the geographic and temporal distribution of this emerging E. coli clonal group and to determine whether it is spread by the ingestion of contaminated foods."

SOURCE: New England Journal of Medicine, 2001;345:1007-1013

SCI-Nurse · 10-05-2001, 01:12 PM

Seneca -- Thanks for sharing the article. I also read it in yesterday's paper. E-coli has long been one of the frequent culprits in UTI especially for women. Our anatomy is such that we can be easily contaminated by the E-coli organism. PLG

10-05-2001, 12:33 AM	#1
antiquity Moderator Join Date: Jul 2001 Posts: 14,540	Urinary Tract Infections Linked to E. Coli Urinary Tract Infections Linked to E. Coli Oct. 4, 2001 (Ivanhoe Newswire) - Researchers have identified a specific, antibiotic-resistant strain of the bacteria E. coli may cause epidemic proportions of urinary tract infections in women. The research, published in this week's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, pinpoints the previously unrecognized clonal group of multidrug-resistant E. coli, clonal group A. In a four-month study of women at a university health service in California, 51 percent of community-acquired urinary tract infections were caused by this clonal group. Similarly high numbers of women at university health centers in Michigan and Minnesota reported urinary tract infections caused by this clonal group (38 percent and 39 percent, respectively). Further, researchers found this clonal group A contributed substantially not only to drug resistant urinary tract infections, but to urinary tract infections in general. Urinary tract infections strike 11 percent of women in the United States each year at least once, and the lifetime probability that a woman will have a urinary tract infection is 60 percent. While treatment of the infections with common drugs is often effective, the increasing incidence of infections caused by strains of E. coli that are resistant to these drugs has made urinary tract infections more difficult to treat. While the typical cause of urinary tract infections has been organisms in the patient's own body, transmission between sex partners and household members has been reported. Researchers also note since clonal group A was found in fecal samples of healthy members of the university community in California, the consumption of contaminated foods may be a link to stopping the spread of these particular urinary tract infections. Lead study author Amee R. Manges, M.P.H., says, "Additional studies are needed to establish the geographic and temporal distribution of this emerging E. coli clonal group and to determine whether it is spread by the ingestion of contaminated foods." SOURCE: New England Journal of Medicine, 2001;345:1007-1013

10-05-2001, 01:12 PM	#2
SCI-Nurse Moderator Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: USA Posts: 41,318	UTI -- E-coli Seneca -- Thanks for sharing the article. I also read it in yesterday's paper. E-coli has long been one of the frequent culprits in UTI especially for women. Our anatomy is such that we can be easily contaminated by the E-coli organism. PLG

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