title: Antimicrobial susceptibilities and beta-lactamase production of Shigella isolates in Crete, Greece, during the period 1991-1995.
abstract: The susceptibility to 11 antibiotics was determined for 52 strains of Shigella isolated from patients with diarrheal disease in Crete, Greece, during the period 1991-1995. Forty-six percent of the isolates were resistant to ampicillin, 48% to tetracycline, 44.2% to chloramphenicol, and 28.8% to cotrimoxazole. Shigella flexneri was more resistant than S. sonnei to ampicillin (82 vs 4.3%), to tetracycline (82 vs 8.7%) and to cotrimoxazole (42.8 vs 13%). Overall, 82% of all S. flexneri isolates were resistant to the three or four antimicrobial agents tested. The beta-lactamases produced by shigellae were identified by isoelectric focusing and were found to be OXA-1, TEM-1, and a low-level beta-lactamase with a pI>8. The results from the present study, which is the first carried out in Crete, emphasize the need for continuous surveillance of resistance and control of antibiotic usage.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bacteriology-Parasitology-Zoonoses & Geographical Medicine, The University Hospital of Heraklion, Crete, Greece.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Maraki
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Georgiladakis
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Christidou
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Scoulica
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tselentis
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000382:microbiology; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D004405:Dysentery, Bacillary / Q000382:microbiology; D006115:Greece; D006801:Humans; D007525:Isoelectric Focusing; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012760:Shigella / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D001618:beta-Lactamases / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D001618:beta-Lactamases