Saturday, 8 February 2025

Prevalence and Susceptibility of Diarrheagenic Pathogens in Under-Five Children in Zanzibar, Tanzania | Chapter 3 | Research Perspectives of Microbiology and Biotechnology Vol. 9

Salmonella spp, Shigella spp, Escherichia coli, Diarrhea, prevalence, antimicrobial susceptibility, children under five yearsBackground: Diarrhoea is one of the leading causes of death, poor health and disability among children aged under five years in developing countries.

Aims: This study aimed at providing evidence of the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance patterns towards Salmonella spp., Shigella spp. and Escherichia coli among under-five children in Unguja – Zanzibar, Tanzania.

Study Design: This cross-sectional design was used to collect samples from stools of children suffering from diarrhoea.

Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out in Zanzibar's western urban region between October 2019 to February 2020.

Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted from October 2019 to February 2020. Random samples were collected to investigate the prevalence of Salmonella spp., Shigella spp. and Escherichia coli. The samples were cultured using Hektoen Enteric (HE) and Salmonella-Shigella agar. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was done by the Kirby–Bauer disc diffusion method.

Results: A total of 159 stool samples were collected in the study; Salmonella spp. was identified 12/159 times (7.5%) of the total samples. Shigella spp. and E. coli were identified in 7/159 samples (4.4%) and 6/159 (3.7%), respectively. The age range of 1- 3 years were more susceptible to diarrhoea caused by Salmonella spp. 12 (7.5%) than Shigella spp. 7 (4.4%) and Escherichia coli 6(3.7%) These results indicated that there is no statistically significant relationship between the age of patients and identification of Salmonella spp., Shigella spp. and Escherichia coli (chi-square with four degrees of freedom = 2, p = 0.064). Children between 49 and 60 months showed low prevalence, while a high peak prevalence was reported for children between 7–12 months. All Salmonella spp., Shigella spp. and Escherichia coli species identified were sufficiently susceptible to chloramphenicol and ceftriaxone, with a varying pattern to azithromycin, ciprofloxacin, ampicillin, nalidixic acid and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. The multiple drug resistant (MDR) patterns of Shigella and E. coli exhibited to four antibiotics trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, azithromycin, ceftriaxone and nalidixic acid while Salmonella isolates showed low resistance pattern to three antibiotics nalidixic acid, azithromycin and ampicillin. The correlation between the total identification of microbes and the date collected stools is significant at p = 0.020. ANOVA test used a linear relationship. The relationship between isolated pathogenic bacteria and the date of collected diarrheagenic stools was positive (3.515), based on the t-value (2.506) and p-value (0.02). The study benefit to guide the first-line and second-line drug choice in the treatment of diarrhoea in the subsequent reviews of the Zanzibar Standard Treatment Guideline (ZSTG) for Diarrhoeal diseases, as needed by Ministry of Health, 2016 and to initiate a long-term surveillance program to monitor and identify the changes in the rate of antimicrobial patterns of these bacteria of public health concern. Future research should extend the study to include other regions of Zanzibar and conduct molecular data, this will provide a more comprehensive understanding prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of diarrhoeagenic pathogens.

Conclusion: We found Salmonella spp., Shigella spp. and Escherichia coli isolates in the stools of children ≤ 5 years from Unguja, Zanzibar, but all the isolates were susceptible to chloramphenicol and ceftriaxone but partially resistant to other tested antibiotics. Identifying resistant bacteria in this age group should be a concern for the public health authorities and trigger research into finding the cause.

 

Author (s) Details

 

Kheir M. Kheir
Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Dar es Salaam, PO Box 35179, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

 

Bernard Mbwele
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Dar es Salaam –Mbeya College of Health and Allied Sciences, PO Box-608, Mbeya, Tanzania.

 

Khadija N. Omar
Zanzibar Livestock Research Institute (ZALIR), Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, Natural Resources and Livestock, PO BOX 104, Kizimbani Zanzibar, Tanzania.

 

Modester D. Nkungu
Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Dar es Salaam, PO Box 35179, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

 

Lucy A. Namkinga
Department of Pharmacology and Biochemistry, University of Dar es Salaam – Mbeya College of Health and Allied Sciences, Mbeya, Tanzania.

 

Please see the book here:- https://doi.org/10.9734/bpi/rpmab/v9/3726

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