Antibiotic susceptibility and resistance patterns of diarrhoeagenic Escherichia Coli, Shigella and Salmonella species: A need for antimicrobial stewardship and surveillance programmes

Abstract

Background

Diarrhoeal diseases caused by bacterial pathogens are a major cause of

increased morbidity and mortality rates worldwide, especially in vulnerable

populations such as children. The emergence of antibiotic resistance has

affected antibiotics commonly used in the management of diarrhoea such as

ampicillin, co-trimoxazole and tetracyclines. We assessed the antibiotic

susceptibility and resistance patterns of diarrhoeagenic Escherichia coli,

Shigella, and Salmonella species based on published studies.

Method

This was a narrative review in which PubMed, Google Scholar, and EMBASE

databases were used to search for studies published between January 2010

and January 2021.

Results

This review shows that diarrhoeagenic Escherichia coli, Shigella species, and

Salmonella species are among the microorganisms which have developed

high resistance to antibiotics including ampicillin, co-trimoxazole and tetracyclines. However, the three

diarrhoeagenic bacteria have a low resistance to ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin, and ceftriaxone and hence can be

used as the drugs of choice in diarrhoeal infections.

Conclusion

There is a high prevalence of diarrhoea caused by Escherichia coli, Shigella species and Salmonella species.

Many diarrhoeagenic bacteria have developed multi-drug resistance to antibiotics, more especially to

ampicillin, co-trimoxazole and tetracyclines. Antibiotic susceptibility tests of diarrhoeagenic bacteria must be

carried out before antibiotics are prescribed. More importantly, antimicrobial stewardship programmes and

surveillance systems must be promoted to curb the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance both in

public and private practicing sites.