Affiliations: Division of Microbiology, Department of Pathobiology,
School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran,
Iran | Antimicrobial Resistant Research Center, Tehran
University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran | Molecular Biology Research Center, Baqiyatallah
University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran | Department of Microbiology, Institute Pasture of Iran,
Tehran, Iran
Note: [] Correspondence: Dr. Mohammad Mehdi Soltan Dallal, Division of
Microbiology, Department of Pathobiology, School of Public Health,Tehran
University of Medical Sciences (TUMS), P.O.Box: 14155-6446, Tehran, Iran. Tel.:
+98 21 66462268; Fax: +98 21 66462267; E-mail: soltanirad34@yahoo.com
Abstract: Shigellosis is one of the major causes of morbidity in children with
diarrhea in Iran. The aim of this study was to investigate antimicrobial
resistance of Shigella flexneri (S. flexneri) strains isolated from
clinically diagnosed cases of gastroenteritis and acute diarrhea in Tehran,
Iran. Shigella strains were isolated from stool samples of patients who
visited the several major hospitals in Tehran. S. flexneri was
preliminarily identified by biochemical tests as well as by API20E.
Antimicrobial resistance testing was performed according to the standard
guidelines of the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute. All strains were
resistant to streptomycin. More than 96.4% of the strains were resistant to
tetracycline and amoxicillin, 89% to co-trimoxsazole, 72.6% to
ampicillin, 33.3% to chloramphenicol, 9.5% to kanamycin, 1.2% to
cefixime, amikacin and furazolidone. None of the tested isolates were resistant
to ceftriaxone, ceftizoxime, ceftazidime, gentamicin, ciprofloxacin,
cephalothin, cefotaxime, cephalexine, nalidixic acid and nitrofurantoin. More
than 96% of the strains showed multi-drug resistance phenotype. Seventeen
resistance patterns were identified among the strains, however the most
prevalent phenotype (36.9%) was R6
(streptomycin/amoxicillin/tetracycline/co-trimoxsazole/ampicillin). This study
indicates an increase in incidence of multiple drug resistance among the
strains of S. flexneri isolated in Tehran, Iran.
Keywords: Shigella flexneri, antibiotic resistance, multi drug resistance, Iran
