Emergence of Escherichia coli ST131 Causing Urinary Tract Infection in Western Asia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Escherichia coli sequence type (ST) 131 is considered a high-risk pandemic clone and frequently extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing clone that is strongly associated with the global dissemination of CTX-M-15 type. The emergence of ST131 has become a public health threat because this clonal group typically exhibits multiple virulence factors and antimicrobial resistance. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the literature published on the estimation of the prevalence of clone ST131 among E. coli strains isolated from patients with urinary tract infections in western Asia. A systematic search was carried out to identify eligible articles in the Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and Google Scholar electronic databases from January 2010 to December 2018. Next, 13 articles meeting the inclusion criteria were selected for data extraction and analysis by Comprehensive Meta-Analysis Software. The included studies were conducted in Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Yemen. In all studies, the pooled prevalence of ST131 was 24.6% (95% CI: 13.5%–40.4%) in wild type isolates, 42.7% (95% CI: 32.5%–53.5%) among ESBLs-producing isolates, and 64.8% (95% CI: 36%–85.5%) among multiple-drug resistant (MDR) isolates. Moreover, the prevalence of ST131 isolates carrying CTX-M-15 type was 68% (95% CI: 48.4%–82.8%). Our study indicated the high prevalence of broadly disseminated ST131 clone among MDR and ESBLs isolates in western Asia. Moreover, O25b was the predominant ST131 clone type, which was mostly associated with CTX-M-15 type.