title: Children with trimethoprim- and ampicillin-resistant fecal Escherichia coli in day care centers.
abstract: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 79 children attending seven day care centers in Houston, Texas, to detect fecal gram-negative bacilli resistant to trimethoprim (TMPr) and ampicillin (AMPr). Fifteen children (19%) were colonized with TMPr Escherichia coli; all but one strain were also resistant to sulfonamides. Most of the children with TMPr E. coli were clustered in center A, where 11 (37%) of 30 children were colonized; only four (8%) of 49 children in the other six centers were colonized with TMPr E. coli (P less than .005). The TMPr E. coli isolates from 10 of the 11 children in Center A had a similar antibiogram, which included resistance to sulfonamides, ampicillin, and streptomycin; eight had a similar total plasmid pattern, an observation suggesting spread within the day care center. Children colonized with AMPr E. coli were present in all centers, although a higher percentage of children in center A were colonized than in the other centers combined (70% vs. 35%; P less than .01).
authors.affiliation: Program in Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology, University of Texas Medical School, Houston 77030.
authors.forename: R R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Reves
authors.forename: B E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.forename: L K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Pickering
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Prado
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maddock
authors.forename: A V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Bartlett
mesh_terms: D000668:Ampicillin Resistance; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002656:Child Day Care Centers; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000382:microbiology; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D010957:Plasmids; D014296:Trimethoprim Resistance
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D004269:DNA, Bacterial