1- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Kashan University of Medical Sciences
2- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Kashan University of Medical Sciences , moniri@kaums.ac.ir
3- Department of Statistics, School of Health, , Kashan University of Medical Science
Abstract: (29618 Views)
Background and objectives: Enterococcus faecalis is a normal commensal in the human intestinal flora but can
leads to nosocomial infections. Several virulence factors have been described in E. faecalis, including
aggregation substance(Agg), entrococcal surface protein(Esp), cytolysin (Cyl) having both hemolytic and
bactericidal activity, and gelatinase(Gel). These factors act synergistically to enhance virulence, resulting tissue
damage and tissue invasion. The aims of this study was phenotypic determination of virulence factors of E.
faecalis isolates recovered from patients with urinary tract infections.
Material and Methods: This descriptive study were carried out in 95 clinical E. faecalis isolates recovered from
patients with urinary tract infections in Shahid Beheshti hospital in Kashan, Iran, between 2007 and 2008. The
production of biofilm, hemolysin and gelatinase by these isolates was also examined and the associated medical
records of patients were retrospectively reviewed. Data were analyzed using Chi Square and Exact Fischer tests.
Results: Gelatinase activity was detected in 19 of the 95 (20%) E. faecalis isolates, hemolysin was detected in
42 of 95 (44.2%) E. faecalis isolates as beta hemolysis 35.8% and alpha hemolysis 7.4%, and 79 out of
95(83.2%) isolates showed weak, 6 out of 95(6.3%) moderate and 10 out of 95 (10.5%) strong biofilm
formation. There was no significant correlation between biofilm formation and age, sex, previous history of
antibiotic therapy, catheterization, production of haemolysin and gelatinase activity.
Conclusions: No single factor was detected as virulence prediction. It seems that the factors act synergistically.
Type of Study:
Original Research Article |
Subject:
Medical Bacteriology Received: 2013/11/16 | Accepted: 2013/11/16 | ePublished: 2013/11/16