Frequency, Antimicrobial Resistance and Serotyping of Shigella-Contaminted Food Samples in Foodborne Disease Outbreaks in Iran

Background and Aim: Food-borne diseases, with an upward trend worldwide, are a major public health issue. On the other hand, resistance to antimicrobial agents is also a global problem. Thus, a knowledge of antibiotic resistance is vital for the proper treatment of food-borne diseases. The aims of this study were to determine the frequency, antimicrobial resistance and serotyping of Shigella-contaminted food samples in foodborne disease outbreaks in Iran. Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive study including 1012 fecal swab samples from 239 foodborne disease outbreaks in different provinces of Iran during the period 2005-6. The isolated Shigella samples were transferred to a microbiology laboratory for microbial culture, serogrouping and antibiogram tests. Results: Out of the1012 fecal swabs collected 29 (2.86%) isolates contained Shigella. The largest Shigella outbreaks (20.6%) were found to have ocurred in 3 provinces, namely,Esfahan, Kurdistan and Semnan. The most common clinical symptoms were abdominal cramping, vomiting, nausea and non-bloody diarrhea. Th frequency of contamination with Shigella Sonnei and  Shigella flexneri was 16 (55.2%) and 13 (44.8%), repectively. The rate of resistance to ciprofloxacin was reported to be 3.4%. Conclusion: Considering the frequency of food contamination with Shigella in the summer and its  in resistence to ciprofloxacin, assessment of its antimicrobial resistance are very important as regards reduction in treatment costs and taking action to control and prevent the disease.