Production by Escherichia coli isolates of siderophore and other virulence factors and their pathogenic role in a cutaneous infection model

Escherichia coli isolates from urinary tract infections (UTIs) (n = 124), extra-urinary sites (n = 37) and normal faecal samples (n = 51) were examined for the presence of virulence factors, including siderophores (aerobactin and enterobactin). The proportion of aerobactin producers was significantly higher in UTI (69.4%; p 0.001) and extra-urinary samples (70.3%; p 0.007) than in controls (41.2%), while the proportion of enterobactin producers was significantly lower in the UTI samples than in the controls (p 0.027). In a cutaneous infection model, aerobactin-positive E. coli showed more growth than non-aerobactin and non-enterobactin isolates, even when other virulence factors were identical.