Aims and Scope
Recent Articles
Characterization and Antibiotic Susceptibility Profiles of Pathogenic Escherichia Coli Isolated from Diarrhea Samples within the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, Eastern Cape, South Africa
Nwabisa Azisa Mkuhlu, Iweriebor Benson Chuks, Obi Larry ChikweluObjectives:
Developing countries like South Africa are still faced with numerous challenges such as poor environmental sanitation, lack of clean drinking water and inadequate hygiene which have contributed largely to diarrheal infections and deaths in children. This study was aimed at investigating the prevalence of pathotypes, antimicrobial resistance and drug resistance determinants among Escherichia coli (E. coli) isolates from diarrhea stool samples within Buffalo City Municipality, Eastern Cape, South Africa.
Methods:
Fresh diarrheal stool samples were collected from 140 patients attending public health centres within the Municipality and presumptive E. coli isolates were obtained from the stool samples using E. coli chromogenic agar while PCR amplification methods were used to confirm the presumptive isolates as well as delineate them into pathotypes based on the presence of certain virulence genes. In addition, antimicrobial susceptibility and screening of some of the antimicrobial resistant determinants were performed on all the confirmed isolates.
Results:
A total of 394 presumptive E. coli isolates from 140 diarrhea stool samples were subjected to polymerase chain reaction amplification, of which 265 were confirmed positive as E. coli. Pathotypes delineation of the positive E. coli isolates validated the presence of ETEC 106 (40%), EAEC 48 (18%), DAEC 37 (14%), and EPEC 31 (11%) while no EIEC pathotype was detected. All E. coli isolates exhibited maximum susceptibility to gentamicin (95%), amikacin (91%), nitrofurantoin (91%), meropenem (90%), chloramphenicol (91%) norfloxacin (84%) and imipenem (83%). However, the isolates showed multidrug resistance to penicillin G, ampicillin, trimethoprim, tetracycline, doxycycline, and erythromycin, with over 71% of the isolates resistant to the drugs. The prevalence and distribution of the five resistance determinants assessed were as follow; sulphonamides; sulII (12%), beta lactams; [ampC (22%); blaTEM, (25%)], and tetracyclines (tetA (35%).
Conclusion:
The results from this study suggest the probable involvement of E. coli pathotypes as an etiologic agent of diarrhea in the study area and revealed high levels of multidrug resistance among the isolates, which could be a major health burden.
December 31, 2020
Articles
- December 18, 2020
Chloroquine Phosphate is not Proved to be an Effective Treatment for Coronavirus: A Meta-analysis of Clinical Trials
December 15, 2020Resistance Profile of Vibrio spp. Strains Collected from Lagoon Bays and Wastewater in the City of Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, from January to June 2017
December 15, 2020Molecular-based Survey of Rickettsia spp. and Coxiella burnetii in Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) from Fars Province, Southern Iran, during 2017-18
November 25, 2020Identification of Proteases: Carboxypeptidase and Aminopeptidase as Putative Virulence Factors of Fusarium solani Species Complex
October 23, 2020Anti-Toxigenic Effect of Lactic Acid Bacteria Against Aspergillus spp Isolated from Wheat Grains
October 13, 2020Multiplex PCR Assay for the Simultaneous Detection of the Brucella Genus in Human Whole Blood and Serum
Editor's Choice
An Epidemiological Review on Emerging and Re-Emerging Parasitic Infectious Diseases in Malaysia
Saad M. Alasil, Khairul A. Abdullah
Emerging infectious diseases are infections that have recently appeared in a population over a defined period of time whereas, re-emerging infectious diseases are those that were once a health problem in a particular region or a country and are now emerging again. Parasitic infectious diseases represent a serious health problem in many developing countries and recently have started spreading to developed nations via international traveling or immigration. Malaysia is facing many challenges caused by various parasitic pathogens. The lack of awareness among disadvantaged populations such as the Orang Asli community and the dependency on foreign workers has led to an influx of immigrants to Malaysia from countries endemic to various parasitic diseases. Understanding the social and economic dynamics of such diseases can help anticipate and subsequently control their emergence. Raising public awareness, developing robust public health infrastructure and implementing point-of-care diagnostics will help curb the spread of such diseases. This review provides epidemiological insights into the reported emerging and re-emerging parasitic infectious diseases in Malaysia over the past two decades.
May 31, 2019
Other Post
- February 28, 2019
Distribution of Class 1 and 2 Integrons Among Salmonella Enterica Serovars Isolated from Iranian Patients
September 30, 2019High Potential Risk of Zika Virus Infection Outbreak in Dengue Suspected Cases in Nepal
August 31, 2018Composition of Intestinal Microbiota in Two Lines of Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus Mykiss) Divergently Selected for Muscle Fat Content
July 31, 2018Microbial Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance in Nepal: Current Trends and Recommendations
December 31, 2018Malaria Burden and Trend Among Clients Seeking Healthcare in the Western Region: A 4-Year Retrospective Study at the Sefwi-Wiawso Municipal Hospital, Ghana
April 28, 2017A Study on the Microbiological Status of Mineral Drinking Water