Emergence of extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli in community hospitals throughout North Carolina: A harbinger of a wider problem in the United States?

Abstract

Community-onset urinary tract infections due to extended- spectrum β-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli have become increasingly common worldwide but have been considered to be uncommon infections in the United States. We report the emergence and subsequent rapid increase in the incidence of these infections in community hospitals throughout North Carolina since 2006. © 2009 by the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved.