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Geographical Variation in Serological types of Urinary Escherichia Coli
Abstract
SUMMARY
Comparison of the distributions of the O-groups of strains of Escherichia coli isolated from infected urines in eleven previous studies has shown that there are statistically significant differences in the frequency distributions of certain O-groups between the findings in America and those in Europe. It is considered that in spite of differences in the methods of patient selection, the bacteriological methods and the levels of serological refinement used in the different investigations, these apparent intercontinental differences in O-group distribution are probably real.
In a study of the O-groups of the E. coli strains isolated from the urines of domiciliary patients with symptomatic infection of the urinary tract in three centres in north-west London, we have confirmed the preponderance of O-groups O2, O4, O6, O18 and O75 in all three localities. Nevertheless, the frequency of occurrence of certain O-groups differed significantly in the three localities, indicating that geographical differences occur not only between different continents but also between regions separated by only a few miles. This geographical variation in the O-group distribution of urinary strains of E. coli is presumably a reflection of a similar geographical variation in the O-groups of E. coli strains in the faecal flora.
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© Society for General Microbiology, 1969