Uropathogenic 𝘌.𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘪 (UPEC)

General Information

Uropathogenic E.coli is a leading cause of urinary tract infections globally, with potential to progress to urosepsis and invasive disease.

UPEC frequently carry multidrug resistance including extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) and carbapenem-resistance. For instance, ESBL prevalence in UPEC hospital isolates can exceed 80%, with carbapenem resistance reaching 34% in hospital settings.

Transmission

The most common route of infection is ascension of bacteria from the urethra to the bladder.

Symptoms

Most UPEC infections cause cystitis with dysuria, urinary frequency/urgency and suprapubic pain; fever and flank pain indicate possible kidney/upper-tract involvement.

Epidemiology

UPEC is responsible for 70–95% of community-onset urinary tract infections (UTIs) and about 50% of nosocomial (hospital) UTIs.

Vaccines Pipeline

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Vaccines in
the pipeline

IMMUNISATION TECHNOLOGY

Protein subunit (1)

DEVELOPMENT PHASES

Phase II (1)

TRIAL POPULATION

Adults (1)

Source:
Ashraf, Z., Rasool, M.H., Aslam, B. et al. Dynamics of urinary tract infections: a comprehensive study on antimicrobial susceptibility, virulence profiling and molecular epidemiology of uropathogenic Escherichia coli from Pakistan. Mol Biol Rep 52, 694 (2025).
Gulshan Kumar, Yashwant Kumar, Gaurav Kumar, Ajay K. Tahlan,. Characterization of uropathogenic E. coli from various geographical locations in India, Journal of Taibah University Medical Sciences, Volume 18, Issue 6, 2023, Pages 1527-1535, ISSN 1658-3612,
[Accessed: August 2025]