ABSTRACT
Background: Diarrheal disease remain a major public health problem in developing countries including Ethiopia. The current study was designed to isolate medically important bacterial enteric pathogens and assess the antimicrobial susceptibility pattern for prescribed drugs. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed between November 2016 and May 2017 to determine bacterial enteric pathogens that cause diarrhea and assess their antimicrobial susceptibility profile. Stool specimens from pediatric patients aged 0-14 years were collected from two health centers and one specialized hospital to identify bacterial enteric pathogens. Antimicrobial susceptibility tests were performed on bacterial isolates using the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method. Results: Out of 290 study patients with diarrhea examined, the majority of bacterial enteropahogens isolated in the study were Shigella species 22(7.6%) followed by enterohemorrgic E.coli O157:H7 13(4.5%) and Salmonella species 7(2.4%). Among the Salmonella species 42.9% showed resistance to trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole. Among the Shigella species, 77.3% were resistant to ampicillin and 68.2% to trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole whereas E.coli O157:H7 strains were resistant mostly to ampicillin (69.2%), and trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole (46.1%). The overall prevalence of multi-drug resistance (MDR) (to â¥3 classes of antibiotics) among the isolates was 26.2%. Conclusion: Salmonella species, enterohemorrhagic E.coli O157:H7and Shigella species were the most frequently isolated pathogens in children with diarrhea. A high proportion of the Salmonella and Shigella isolates identified in the study showed resistance to the most frequently prescribed drugs ampicillin and trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole. Ciprofloxacin was found to be the best drug of choice for the treatment of diarrhea caused by Salmonella and Shigella. When antibiotics are indicated to treat diarrhea in children, clinicians should rely on stool culture and antimicrobial susceptibility testing before prescribing drugs