OCCURRENCE OF F-IME PLASMIDS IN MULTIPLY ANTIMICROBIAL-RESISTANT ESCHERICHIA-COLI ISOLATED FROM URINARY-TRACT INFECTION

Plasmids belonging to the F(I)me incompatibility group were found in s even different serogroups of multiply antimicrobial-resistant Escheric hia coli isolated from patients with urinary tract infection (UTI) and living in south-east London. Although widespread in Salmonella spp., F(I)me plasmids have only previously been described in E. coli in a st rain of serogroup O15 K52 H1 responsible for an extensive and protract ed outbreak of invasive community-acquired infection in south-east Lon don in 1986. Our findings suggest either a wider background occurrence of F(I)me plasmids in E. coli associated with UTI than previously rep orted or alternatively, the dissemination and subsequent molecular div ersification of the F(I)me plasmid associated with the epidemic strain of serogroup O15 K52 H1.