Escherichia coli causing urinary tract infections
Escherichia coli causing urinary tract infections
Assistant Lecturer. Ola Jamil Jubeir
Urinary tract infection is common and may be severe, especially in infants and children, which may result in a failure in kidney function in the future, and infection occurs when germs enter the urinary system (bladder or kidneys), as the germs are abundant on the skin and near the urinary system of the child , where germs are not usually found in the urinary system as in the digestive system, but there are some cases that lead to the entry of these germs there, especially in females, as E. coli is the most important cause of urinary tract infection because of its stability in the digestive system, and it was mentioned that E. coli that live inside the intestine causes UTI when it finds its way into the urinary system and infection occurs (Johnson et al., 2001a; John et al., 2001b; Peeters, 1994). The global epidemiological statistics of children with urinary tract infection who are treated in the hospital amounted to 40,000 children annually, and the infection rate is 1% for females and 3% for males in the first year and after birth, 2% for children less than three months old and 5% for children. Those whose age is more than three months, male children, especially children who have not undergone circumcision whose age is less than a year and immediately after birth, are exposed to urinary tract infection (W.H.O., 2010).
The most important bacteria that cause UTIs are Escherichia coli 68% and possibly more, isolated serotype O18:K1:h7 from UTI cases: Proteus mirabilis 12%, Klebsiella aerogenes 4%, Enterococcus faecalis 6%, Staphylococcus epidermis or Staphylococcus saprophytics 10 , be bacteria K. aerogenes and E. faecalis are the most prevalent in hospitals and cause urinary tract infection in children, other causes of infection are congenital anatomical abnormalities, stones in the urinary system increase the possibility of infection with these diseases, E. coli causes 85% of urinary tract infection in infants, especially females Of them, because of the shortness of the urine canal, they are more susceptible to infection of the urinary tract due to the presence of these bacteria naturally in the intestines, on the skin, and around the rectum or vagina in females. Children under one year old (Corinne et al., 2007)