Escherichia coli Colonization Patterns among Human Household Members and Pets, with Attention to Acute Urinary Tract Infection
Mucosal and Vaccine Research Center, Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and Department of Medicine, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
Background.
Within‐household transmission of Escherichia coli may promote urinary tract infection (UTI) but is poorly understood.
Methods.Fecal samples from 228 individuals (152 humans [5 with acute UTI] and 76 pets) in 63 households were extensively processed for unique E. coli clones, as defined by random‐amplified polymorphic DNA analysis and pulsed‐field gel electrophoresis. Patterns of strain sharing (presence of a clone in multiple individuals) were assessed.
Results.Of 335 E. coli clones, 90 (27%) were recovered from multiple hosts (up to 11 per clone). Within‐household strain sharing (1) involved 68% of households, including 3 of 5 households in which a member had a UTI; (2) was more frequent than across‐household strain sharing (27% vs. 0.8% of potential sharing pairs; 
); (3) increased with household size (
; 
); and (4) varied by host‐pair type (pet‐pet, 58%; human‐human, 31%; human‐pet, 17%). Sex partners shared strains more commonly than did other adults (31% vs. 7% of pairs; 
) but accounted for only 12% of within‐household strain sharing.
Conclusions.Within‐household sharing of E. coli, including in households in which a member has a UTI, is common and can involve any combination of humans and pets. Identification of the underlying mechanism(s) could lead to novel preventive measures against UTI.
Received 22 February 2007; accepted 28 July 2007; electronically published 7 January 2008.
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Online publication date: 23-Jul-2009.
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Potential conflicts of interest: J.R.J. has received grants, consultancies, and/or honoraria from Merck, Bayer, Ortho‐McNeil, Wyeth‐Ayerst, Rochester Medical, and Procter & Gamble. All other authors report no potential conflicts.
Financial support: Office of Research and Development, Medical Research Service, Department of Veterans Affairs.