Antimicrobial resistance surveillance among commensal Escherichia coli in rural and urban areas in Southern India.
OBJECTIVE
To assess antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Tamil Nadu, India.


METHODS
Data on AMR of commensal and uropathogenic Escherichia coli were collected from one urban (Christian Medical College Hospital, Vellore) and one rural (CMCH Rural Unit for Health and Social Affairs) centre in Tamil Nadu at monthly intervals for 1 year.


RESULTS
Forty-two per cent of commensal E. coli was resistant to one or more of the tested antimicrobials. 8.4% were resistant to three drugs commonly used for the treatment of urinary tract infections, namely ampicillin, co-trimoxazole and nalidixic acid. 1.5% of isolates were resistant to nitrofurantoin. There was no significant difference between resistance rates in commensal E. coli collected in rural and urban areas. Resistance was more common in infecting than commensal strains.


CONCLUSIONS
Resistance to most antimicrobials is high both in urban and rural areas. Higher resistance to antimicrobials used widely for the treatment suggests that drug use contributes to it. Hence unnecessary use of antimicrobials must be avoided. Surveillance among commensal E. coli can be used to monitor changes in AMR over time.
Mathai
Elizabeth
E
Department of Clinical Microbiology, Christian Medical College and Hospital, Vellore, India. mathaim@yahoo.com
Chandy
Sujith
S
Thomas
Kurien
K
Antoniswamy
Belavendra
B
Joseph
Inbakumar
I
Mathai
Matthews
M
Sorensen
Thomas L
TL
Holloway
Kathleen
K
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D011159:Population Surveillance; D015995:Prevalence; D012424:Rural Population; D014505:Urban Population; D014552:Urinary Tract Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents