Abstract
BACKGROUND: Multi-drug resistant Escherichia coli has become a major threat and cause of many urinary tract infections (UTIs) in Abeokuta, Nigeria. OBJECTIVES: This study was carried out to determine the resistant plasmids of multidrug resistant Escherichia coli isolated from (Urinary tract infections)UTIs in Abeokuta. METHODS: A total of 120 Escherichia coli isolates were obtained from urine samples collected from patients attending inpatient and outpatient clinics presenting UTI; with their biodata. Antibiotics susceptibility was performed and multi-drug resistant isolates were selected for plasmid profiling. Plasmids were extracted by the alkaline lysis method, electrophoresed on 0.8% agarose gel and profiled using a gel-photo documentation system gel. RESULTS: Escherichia coli isolates obtained shows high resistance to cloxacillin (92.5%), amoxicillin (90.8%), ampicillin (90.8%), erythromycin (75.8%), cotrimoxazole (70.0%), streptomycin (70.0%) and tetracycline (68.3%) while 85.8% and 84.2% were susceptible to gentamycin and ceftazidime respectively. Sixteen Escherichia coli strains were observed to be resistant to more than two classes of antibiotics. The resistant plasmid DNA was detectable in 6(37.5%) of the 16 multidrug resistant Escherichia coli having single sized plasmids of the same weight 854bp and were all resistant to erythromycin, cefuroxime, cloxacillin, amoxicillin, ampicillin and cotrimoxazole. CONCLUSION: This study has highlighted the emergence of multidrug resistant R-plasmids among Escherichia coli causing urinary tract infections in Abeokuta, Nigeria. There is a high level of resistance to many antimicrobials that are frequently used in Abeokuta, Nigeria.