Antimicrobial resistance patterns and prevalence of integrons in Shigella species isolated from children with diarrhea in southwest Iran

Background and Aim : Shigellosis is a major healthcare concern in the world, especially in developing countries with poor hygiene particularly among children under ۵ years old. To investigate the antimicrobial resistance patterns and prevalence of integrons in Shigella species isolated from children with diarrhea in southwest Iran.Methods : In this study, ۱۵۳۰ stool samples were collected from children under ۱۵ years with diarrhea referred to teaching hospitals in Ahvaz and Abadan, southwest Iran. Shigella spp. were identified by standard biochemical tests and PCR. The antibiotic resistance pattern of all Shigella isolates was determined by the disk diffusion method and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) by E-test.Results : Of ۱۵۳۰ stool samples, ۹۱ (۵.۹%, ۹۱/۱۵۳۰) were positive for Shigella spp. the most common Shigella isolates were Shigella flexneri ۴۷ (۵۱.۶%, ۴۷/۱۵۳۰). Antibiotic susceptibility tests showed that the highest antibiotic resistance was related to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (۸۷.۹%, ۸۰/۹۱) and ampicillin (۸۶.۸%, ۷۹/۹۱). Multiplex PCR results revealed that ۵۶% and ۸۶.۹% of Shigella isolates carried integron class I and integron class II genes, respectively. None of the isolates included the integron class III gene.Conclusion : The high prevalence of multi-drug resistance in Shigella isolates in our area increases the concerns about the dissemination of the antibiotic-resistant isolates in this bacterium.

Keywords:

Integrons , Shigella spp. , Multi-drug resistance , PCR