Transmission of uropathogens between sex partners
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Updated: Sep 18, 2026

Establishment and Characterization of UTI and CAUTI in a Mouse Model
Published on: June 23, 2015
1Department of Epidemiology, University of Michigan, School of Public Health, Ann Arbor 48109, USA.
Abstract:
Epidemiologic evidence and several case reports suggest that Escherichia coli causing urinary tract infection (UTI) may be transmitted between sex partners. In order to test this hypothesis, urinary, vaginal, and fecal E. coli isolates from 19 women with UTI were compared with E. coli found in random initial voids from their most recent male sex partner. E. coli was isolated from 4 of 19 male sex partners. In each case, the E. coli isolated from the man was identical by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and bacterial virulence profile to the urinary E. coli from his sex partner.
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