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Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/2445/101551
Characterization of Vaginal Escherichia coli Isolated from Pregnant Women in Two Different African Sites
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Abstract
The relevance of vaginal colonization of pregnant women by
Escherichia coli is poorly understood, despite these strains
sharing a similar virulence profile with other extraintestinal
pathogenic E. coli producing severe obstetric and neonatal
infections. We characterized the epidemiology, antimicrobial
susceptibility and virulence profiles of 84 vaginal E. coli
isolates from pregnant women from Rabat (Morocco) and Manhica
(Mozambique), two very distinct epidemiological settings. Low
levels of antimicrobial resistance were observed to all drugs
tested, except for trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole in Manhica,
where this drug is extensively used as prophylaxis for
opportunistic HIV infections. The most prevalent virulence
factors were related to iron acquisition systems. Phylogroup A
was the most common in Rabat, while phylogroups E and
non-typeable were the most frequent in Manhica. Regardless of
the apparently "low virulence" of these isolates, the frequency
of infections is higher and the outcomes more devastating in
constrained-resources conditions, especially among pregnant
women and newborns.
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SÁEZ-LÓPEZ, Emma, et al. Characterization of Vaginal Escherichia coli Isolated from
Pregnant Women in Two Different African Sites. PLoS One. 2016. Vol. 11, num. 7, pags. e0158695. ISSN 1932-6203. [consulted: 18 of June of 2026]. Available at: https://hdl.handle.net/2445/101551