ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: Multi drug resistant Shigellae pose a major threat in control of shigellosis with. Shigella dysenteriae being the most prevalent species at our centre before 1994. A gradual decrease in S. dysenteriae occurred over the years with a corresponding increase in S. flexneri which became the predominant serotype. From May to November 2003, an increase in number of patients admitted with clinical diagnosis of dysentery was noted in comparison to previous years, with a corresponding increase in the isolation of multi drug resistant S. dysenteriae. We report here the re-emergence of multi drug resistant S. dysenteriae at our tertiary care centre in north India after a gap of about 10 yr. Plasmid analysis of S. dysenteriae was also performed to study the origin and clonality of the isolates. METHODS: Stool samples were collected in Cary-Blair medium and processed by standard methods. Shigellae were confirmed by serotyping. Minimum inhibitory concentration was done by agar dilution method and E-test. Plasmid profiling of 18 isolates (16 S. dysenteriae 1 and 2 S. dysenteriae 2) was performed by modified alkali lysis method. Clinical details of patients were noted. RESULTS: A total of 64 patients with dysentery were admitted during the study period. Patients presented with unusually severe symptoms and six developed complications. Treatment failure with ciprofloxacin occurred in six patients who received cefotaxime and amikacin. There were 38 children below 5 yr of age. S. dysenteriae (18 isolates of S. dysenteriae 1 and 2 isolates of S. dysenteriae 2) were isolated from 20 of the 64 (31.2%) stool samples. S. dysenteriae re-emerged as the commonest isolate after a gap of nearly 10 yr. Fourteen of the 20 S. dysenteriae isolates were multi drug resistant; 12 were resistant to ciprofloxacin with MIC of 8-32 mug/ml. Plasmid profile analysis revealed that 6 of 11 ciprofloxacin resistant S. dysenteriae 1 had similar profiles. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION: Emergence of a clone of ciprofloxacin resistant S. dysenteriae 1 in north India is disturbing as treatment options in our geographic area are limited in view of already existing high drug resistance to nalidixic acid, co-trimoxazole and amoxycillin. A close monitoring of shifts in serogroup distribution and antibiotic resistance is required to guide clinicians for treatment of shigellosis.