Multi-drug resistant pattern of Escherichia coli isolates from diarrhoeic children in Zaria, Nigeria

Abstract

E. coli, which is one of the main causes of both nosocomial and community acquired infections, particularly diarrhoea in children and has been variously reported to develop or acquire resistance to a variety of antibiotics. Seventy (70) isolates of Escherichia coli from stool of diarrhoeic children below the age of five (5) attending two hospitals and a primary healthcare centre in Zaria were screened for their susceptibility to a panel of nine commonly used antibiotics. Sixteen isolates (22.9%) were found to be resistant to all the antibiotics. Majority of the isolates were resistant to the inhibitory effects of the penicillins (amoxicillin, ampicillin), tetracycline, sulphonamide/ diaminopyridines and some cephalosporins, but susceptible to the fluoroquinolones (ciprofloxacin) and gentamicin. A high proportion of the isolates were multi-drug resistant, with seventeen phenotypic patterns. This raises serious issues as regards effective management of infection that could be caused by these organisms. The multiple antibiotic resistance indices (MARI) for the MAR isolates was found to be high, between 0.3 to 1.0 suggesting that the isolates originated from an environment where antibiotics were often used and the continued usefulness of these antibiotics in the treatment of E. coli infections in children need to be reviewed.