Shigella Serotypes among Nursery and Primary School Children with Diarrhoea in Ago-iwoye and Ijebu-igbo, Southwestern Nigeria

Objective: Shigellosis is an important gastrointestinal infection in tropical and temperate countries. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the prevalence and antibiotic resistance of the different serotypes of Shigella species among nursery and primary school children with diarrhoea in two semi-urban communities in Nigeria. Methods:The isolates were characterized using standard biochemical and serological methods. Antibiotic susceptibility test was performed by the disc diffusion method. Results: Shigella spp. were isolated in 7.7% of samples from 271 children with diarrhoea in two hospitals located in southwestern Nigeria. S. flexneri was the most prevalent species, and followed by S. dysenteriae. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing showed that drug resistant Shigella spp. was spreading in the communities but the isolates were susceptible to new quinolones. Conclusion: Our results showed that whereas the confirmed cases of shigellosis in the communities investigated was low (7.7%), this should not be ignored since most diarrhoeal cases are seldom reported. The fluoroquinolones could be very important in the management of shigellosis in the locations studied, hence continuous surveillance is warranted to monitor the emergence of resistant strains to these promising antibiotics.