Serotyping and virulence factors of Pseudomonas aeruginosa clinical isolates.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is one of the major opportunistic human pathogens very often responsible for severe infections mainly in immunocompromised hosts. These bacteria may cause the broad spectrum of infections which are associated with urinary, respiratory and gastrointestinal tract, burn wounds, eyes as well as other sites. P. aeruginosa also significantly contributes to high morbidity and mortality rates of nosocomial infections. This microorganism produces a number of exoproducts which have been implicated in the pathogenesis of pseudomonas infections. Among them, the activity of elastase, proteinase and alginate were well established. The aim of the present study was to determine the distribution of P. aeruginosa strains (isolated from urinary and respiratory tract infections) in O-serotypes and to evaluate some of their characteristics (elastase, proteinase and alginate).