Abstract

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Complications in UTIs have increased among women due to the increased ability of E coli to produce ESBL, which makes treatment difficult due to multidrug resistance. This research was undertaken to detect ESBL genes in E .coli from women with UTI. Bacteria were isolated from urine samples using Eosin Methylene Blue Agar (EMB) and identified using biochemical tests. Antimicrobial resistance was determined using the disk diffusion method with different classes of antibiotics. Isolates were screened for ESBL production using the CLSI protocol and suspected ESBL producers were confirmed using the double disc synergy method. Detection and characterization of ESBL genes were done by single Polymerase chain reaction method. Results showed that 95 (34.17%) women tested positive for UTI, with 51( 53.68) being E .coli positive and 44 ( 46. 31% ) being other bacteria. Women with fistula had the highest prevalence of E. coli [ 30 (58.8% ) ] while women with diabetes had the least[2 (3.9%)]. Infection with E. coli was statistically significant among women with Fistula, pregnancy, HIV and diabetes (P = 0.0001, 0.002, 0.003 and 0.001 respectively). All the strains of E. coli showed high resistance to Beta lactams and other commonly used classes of antibiotics including the Carbapenems. Prevalence of ESBLs was 23.52%, while ESBL genes detected include TEM 8 (66.66%), TEM & CTX 2 ( 16 .66% ). The SHV gene was not detected while 2 of the isolates could not be recovered for the test

Keywords: ESBL, Resistance Genes, E. coli, Women, Nigeria