IntroductionEscherichia coli is a Gram-negative opportunistic human pathogen, which has aroused considerable medical interest for being involved in cases of urinary tract infection.AimCharacterize the E. coli isolated both in the hospital and in the community.MethodologyA total of 200 E. coli isolated in urine samples from hospital and community were evaluated in biofilm formation assay and hydrophobicity MATS method. Antimicrobial susceptibility was performed through agar-diffusion technique. Virulence and ESBL production genes were observed through the polymerase chain reaction amplification of papC, fimH, fliC, kpsMTII, blaTEM, blaCTX-M, blaSHV, and blaOXA.The phylogenetic classification was based on the pattern chuA and yjaA and the region TspE4.C2 by PCR Multiplex.ResultsA higher frequency of non-adherent or poorly adherent isolates was observed in the community group. Approximately 85% of the community isolates were distributed in the highest hydrophilicity group (p<0.05). The level of resistant microorganisms was present at the same level in both source (p>0.05). About 14% of the hospital isolates were positive in the ESBL phenotypic detection test (p>0.05). Among the samples, 95% presented ESBL-encoding genes. The predominant phylogenetic group was B2 (78%). Community isolates showed a higher prevalence of virulence genes fimH, papC, and kpsMTII when compared to hospital samples.ConclusionThese data confirm the worldwide trend that isolates in the community present sometimes higher levels of virulence and antimicrobial resistance.