title: Frequency of serovars and antimicrobial resistance in Shigella spp. from Brazil.
abstract: A total of 296 Shigella spp. were received from State Public Health Laboratories, during the period from 1999 to 2004, by National Reference Laboratory for Cholera and Enteric Diseases (NRLCED)--IOC/Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The frequency of Shigella spp. was: S. flexneri (52.7%), S. sonnei (44.2%), S. boydii (2.3%), and S. dysenteriae (0.6%). The most frequent S. flexneri serovars were 2a and 1b. The highest incidence rates of Shigella isolation were observed in the Southeast (39%) and Northeast (34%) regions and the lowest rate in the South (3%) of Brazil. Strains were further analyzed for antimicrobial susceptibility by disk diffusion method as part of a surveillance program on antimicrobial resistance. The highest rates of antimicrobial resistance were to trimethoprim-sulfamethozaxole (90%), tetracycline (88%), ampicillin (56%), and chloramphenicol (35%). The patterns of antimicrobial resistance among Shigella isolates pose a major difficulty in the determination of an appropriate drug for shigellosis treatment. Continuous monitoring of antimicrobial susceptibilities of Shigella spp. through a surveillance system is thus essential for effective therapy and control measures against shigellosis.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Referência Nacional de Cólera e outras Enteroinfecções Bacterianas, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz-Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21045-900, Brasil. peirano@ioc.fiocruz.br
authors.forename: Gisele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Peirano
authors.forename: Flávia dos Santos
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Souza
authors.forename: Dalia dos Prazeres
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Rodrigues
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001938:Brazil; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D015995:Prevalence; D012703:Serotyping; D012760:Shigella / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents