Prevalence of MDR-ES?L producing Escherichia coli isolated from urinary tract infections of pregnant women in Karnataka

Abstract

Escherichia coli is the most predominant etiological agent of urinary tract infections. Pregnant women are more prone for UTI's, with an incidence of 8-10% leading to significant morbidity for both mother and baby. Persistent rise in the occurrence of MDR-ESpL E. coli in UTI's complicates the treatment options. The present study reports the prevalence of ES?L producing E. coli among pregnant women in Karnataka. Out of the 417 samples from pregnant women suspected of UTI, 117 E. coli isolates have been obtained indicating an incidence of 28.05% out of which 18.5% of the isolates were ES?L producers and all of them have been found to be Multi Drug Resistance (MDR). Resistance to certain antibiotics like ciprofloxacin (89.4%), cotrimoxazole (81.5%), and tetracycline (77.6%) was significantly higher among ES?L producers than the non ES?L producing E. coli isolates.