Exploring the virulence pattern and antibiotic resistance of <i>Escherichia coli</i> strains isolated from diarrheal stool in Benin

Abstract

This research study aims to probing the virulence genes of Escherichia coli isolated from children aged 0-5 years diarrheal stool samples upon admission in two hospitals in Cotonou, Benin. A collection of 100 E. coli strains were isolated and characterized for five intestinal virulent genes through a multiplex PCR. The characterization was supplemented by a survey of the antibiotic-resistance of these strains. Among the studied virulence genes, only the intimine coding gene, eae gene was found in a proportion of 9%. Moreover, E. coli strains show higher resistance to Ampicillin (82%), Tetracycline (79%), Trimethoprim Sulfamethoxazole (77%), Amoxicillin + Clavulanic Acid (75%) and strong sensitivity to Imipenem. By way of conclusion, the positive eae-isolation of E. coli implies that this pathogen is an important etiology of gastroenteritis in Benin.

Keywords: Virulent genes, Escherichia coli, antibiotics- resistance, Benin