Assignment of faecal and systemic E. coli to phylogenetic groups.

216 faecal E. coli and 35 systemic E. coli from vital organs were typed using the Clermont et al triplex PCR and assigned to 1 of 5 phylogenetic groups. Those isolates which showed no amplification of any of the 3 targets, yet confirmed to be E. coli were assigned to subgroup A0. Group D was the most frequently detected phylogenetic group among faecal population, while A0 (untypable) was the most common group among systemic isolates. B2 and D have been previously associated with more pathogenic E. coli, however they only accounted for 28.57% of systemic isolates in this study.