Chronic UTIs Turning into Kidney Infections—Could It Be the Same E. Coli from 5 Years Ago? What if my recurrent UTIs aren’t new infections at all? What if the same E. coli bacteria from years ago is still hiding in my system, slowly evolving into something much worse, like a kidney infection? You might be wondering, “How can you be sure it's the same bacteria?” Well, after multiple rounds of antibiotics and countless doctor visits, my urologist ran a series of tests—urine cultures and a DNA anal