Characteristics of Multidrug Resistant Shigella and Vibrio cholerae O1 Infections in Patients Treated at an Urban and a Rural Hospital in Bangladesh

We determined the frequency of multidrug resistant (MDR) infections with Shigella spp. and Vibrio cholerae O1 at an urban (Dhaka) and rural (Matlab) hospital in Bangladesh. We also compared sociodemographic and clinical features of patients with MDR infections to those with antibiotic-susceptible infections at both sites. Analyses were conducted using surveillance data from the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), for the years 2000-2012. Compared to patients with antibiotic-susceptible for Shigella infections, those in Dhaka with MDR shigellosis were more likely to experience diarrhea for >24 hours, while, in Matlab, they were more likely to stay inhospital >24 hours. For MDR shigellosis, Dhaka patients were more likely than those in Matlab to have dehydration, stool frequency >10/day, and diarrheal duration >24 hours. Patients with MDR Vibrio cholerae O1 infections in Dhaka were more likely than those in Matlab to experience dehydration and stool frequency >10/day. Thus, patients with MDR shigellosis and Vibrio cholerae O1 infection exhibited features suggesting more severe illness than those with antibiotic-susceptible infections. Moreover, Dhaka patients with MDR shigellosis and Vibrio cholerae O1 infections exhibited features indicating more severe illness than patients in Matlab.