[Haemolysin production in "Escherichia coli" strains isolated from urinary tract infection, infantile enteritis and commensal flora (author's transl)].

A total of 933 strains of Escherichia coli, of which 146 isolated from cystitis cases, 515 from infantile enteritis one and 272 from healthy individuals, have been chicked for haemolytic activity. A good 45.2% of the strains from the urinary tract, but only 7.7% of the enteritogenic and 3.6% of enteric commensal ones were found to be haemolytic. Among the cystitis strains, a high number (30/146 with an incidence of 20.5%) belonged to O6 serogroup. Serotype O4 was also frequently found (9.5%). Among the urinary strains, of which more than half (53.4%) were included in O1 up to O10 serogroups, the haemolytic ones were comprised in O2, O4, O6, O55 and O75 serogroups. Finally, the Authors point out the importance that the haemolytic activity of Escherichia coli may have in the pathogenesis of the renal injury at the light of some late experimental works.