The Susceptibility Pattern of Salmonella Species to Commonly Used Antibiotics in the Bamenda District Health Area; Cameroon

ABSTRACT

The susceptibility of Salmonella bacteria to commonly used antibiotics such as ampicillin; chloramphenicol and trimethoprim/sulphamethoxazole is threatened by the emergence of resistance strains of Salmonella. A cross-sectional study was carried out from September 2014 to November 2014 in the Regional Hospital Bamenda on individuals presenting with symptoms of salmonellosis. The Salmonellae were isolated from stool by culturing in Salmonella-Shigella Agar and Kliger Iron Agar; the later in which the isolates produced specific biochemical characteristics which were conclusive. They were assessed for antimicrobial susceptibility by the disc diffusion method using Mueller-Hinton Agar following both CLSI and EUCAST manual instructions. A total of 253 samples were collected and 22 cases were positive for Salmonella species with a prevalence of 8.70%. The susceptibility of the isolated Salmonellae to seven antibiotics was noted with ciprofloxacin having an overall sensitivity of 52.38%; ofloxacin; 47.62%; ceftriaxone; 47.62%; and gentamicin; 38.10%. Chloramphenicol had a low sensitivity percentage of 28.57%; while co-trimoxazole and amoxicilin had a high resistance level of 100.00% (0% sensitivity). The fluoroquinolones were found to be the best drugs for the treatment of typhoid; but there was also a noticeable re-emergence of chloramphenicol susceptible Salmonella