Antibiotic resistance studies of Escherichia coli and Salmonella species isolated from diarrheal patients

Antibiotic resistance is a widespread problem. However, limited studies are available on Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. associated with stool samples of diarrhea patients in Leda Diarrhea Treatment Center (DTC), Teknaf, Cox, Bazar. In this study, 51 stool samples were collected between October and December 2020 from diarrhea patients from a selected DTC. Bacteria isolation and antibiotics susceptibility testing were carried out using standard microbiological procedures. Isolates of bacteria that were resistant to more than three classes of antibiotics were considered Multidrug Resistance (MDR). About 20 bacteria that include E. coli (n = 15) and Salmonella spp. (n = 5) were isolated while the highest prevalence of 73.3% and 60% respectively were observed among the under-5 years, age group. The highest (60%) frequency of isolation of Salmonella spp. was found among illiterate patients. The high resistance to each of amoxicillin (80%), ampicillin (100%), and tetracycline (73.3%) among E. coli isolates was observed while tetracycline was the most frequently used antibiotic for diarrhea treatment among sampled patients. Among Salmonella spp. 100% resistance to each of amoxicillin and ampicillin was observed, while 60% resistance to tetracycline was noticed. Two and one MDR E.coli and Salmonella spp. were recognized respectively. The occurrence of both E. coli and Salmonella among infants and aged adults, attached with MDR characteristics presented by bacteria from this study are of public health importance. Therefore, widespread studies are necessary for the determination of the molecular epidemiology of these resistant bacteria for public health surveillance