Food Reservoir for Escherichia coli Causing Urinary Tract Infections

DOI: 10.3201/eid1601.091118
Suggested citation for this article: Vincent C, Boerlin P, Daignault D, Dozois CM, Dutil L, Galanakis C, et al. Food reservoir for Escherichia coli causing urinary tract infections. Emerg Infect Dis. 2010 Jan; [Epub ahead of print]

Food Reservoir for Escherichia coli Causing Urinary Tract Infections
Caroline Vincent, Patrick Boerlin, Danielle Daignault, Charles M. Dozois, Lucie Dutil, Chrissi Galanakis, Richard J. Reid-Smith, Pierre-Paul Tellier, Patricia A. Tellis, Kim Ziebell, and Amee R. Manges

Author affiliations: McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada (C. Vincent, C. Galanakis, P.-P. Tellier, P.A. Tellis, A.R. Manges); University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada (P. Boerlin, R.J. Reid-Smith); Public Health Agency of Canada, Saint-Hyacinthe, Québec (D. Daignault, L. Dutil); INRS-Institut Armand-Frappier, Laval, Québec (C.M. Dozois); and Public Health Agency of Canada, Guelph (R.J. Reid-Smith, K. Ziebell)

Closely related strains of Escherichia coli have been shown to cause extraintestinal infections in unrelated persons. This study tests whether a food reservoir may exist for these E. coli. Isolates from 3 sources over the same time period (2005–2007) and geographic area were compared. The sources comprised prospectively collected E. coli isolates from women with urinary tract infection (UTI) (n = 353); retail meat (n = 417); and restaurant/ready-to-eat foods (n = 74). E. coli were evaluated for antimicrobial drug susceptibility and O:H serotype and compared by using 4 different genotyping methods. We identified 17 clonal groups that contained E. coli isolates (n = 72) from >1 source. E. coli from retail chicken (O25:H4-ST131 and O114:H4-ST117) and honeydew melon (O2:H7-ST95) were indistinguishable from or closely related to E. coli from human UTIs. This study provides strong support for the role of food reservoirs or foodborne transmission in the dissemination of E. coli causing common community-acquired UTIs.

Extraintestinal infections caused by Escherichia coli cause serious illness and death. Every year, 6–8 million cases of uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTI) occur in the United States and 130–175 million cases occur globally; >80% are associated with E. coli (1,2). The urinary tract is the most common source for E. coli causing bloodstream infections, which cause...

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