Bacteria Causing UTI in Patients at Abu Ghraib, Iraq: Isolation and Identification

This study aimed to detect the most pathogenic bacteria causing UTI in the Abu Ghraib region in Iraq. A cross-sectional study was done in the clinic to investigate the most common bacterial cause of UTI in patients suffering from UTI symptoms. Patients who visited clinics and whose UTI signs and symptoms were verified by the attending clinician were included in the study. All patients had given their consent to participate in the trial and had no prior history of receiving antibiotics for UTIs in the previous two weeks. Patients who were currently menstruating, had a history of taking an antibiotic within the previous two weeks, or who did not give their consent were not included in the study. Two hundred thirteen midstream urine samples were included in this study obtained from 137 females and 76 males. The age of these patients ranged between 18 and 72 years. The collected urine was examined within 3 hours in the bacteriology laboratory. These samples were cultured on primary media, and then the identification of these unknown bacteria was done. The current study showed that the infections in males were significantly higher than in females. Infection was found to be significantly higher in the age group of 31-50 years than in the other age groups, followed by the age groups of 18-30 years. This study showed that E. coli is the most prevalent bacteria isolated from UTI patients, followed by K. pneumonia. In conclusion, UTIs are caused mainly by E. coli and K. pneumonia. They occur mainly in females as compared to males, especially in the age group between 31 and 50 years.