Title: Shigella spp in stool cultures: 20 year analysis
Abstract: Background: Shigella infection is more frequent during times of heat or heavy rains. Shigellosis mainly affects children under the age of ten. Man is the only reservoir of Shigella. Most cases are produced by person-to-person transmission through the fecal-oral route. Epidemiologycal outbreaks may occur if food contamination with faeces of patients with shigellosis occurs. The aim was to analyze the presence of Shigella spp in coprocultures of patients treated at the Zona Norte Children's Hospital. Study the annual, age and seasonal distribution. Semi-quantify the presence of leukocytes and evaluate the susceptibility to the antimicrobials Ampicillin, Trimethoprim.+.Sulfamethoxazole, Ceftriazone and Furazolidone. Methods & Materials: We analyzed 13467 coprocultures of patients between 0 and 13 years of age from 1997 to 2016 inclusive. The following groups were considered for age distribution: 0 to 2 years, 2 to 4 years, 4 to 13 years. The prevalence was evaluated during the four seasons of the year. The leukocytes were classified as abundant, regular and scarce. The number of isolates of Shigella flexneri and Shigella sonnei per year was analyzed. Antimicrobial susceptibility was also studied. Results: Of the total of stool cultures processed, 10.5% (n.=.1414) were positive. In 4.7% (n.=.633) of the stool cultures Shigella flexneri was isolated and in 1.0% (n.=.135) Shigella sonnei was isolated. Shigella flexneri predominated in children under 2 years old and Shigella sonnei in children between 2 and 4 years of age. In all cases the stool samples had abundant leukocytes. In the summer months, the highest number of isolates was obtained. No strains resistant to Ceftriazone or Furazodilone were obtained. A gradual increase in resistance to Ampicillin and Trimethoprim.+.sulfamethoxazole was observed in the last 20 years studied, reaching 81.3% and 18.8% respectively in 2016. Conclusion: The data obtained in the work agree with the literature. Antibiotics are often administered to shorten the duration of the disease and to prevent transmission to other people. It is necessary to reduce the transmission rate of these enteropathogens in our environment with greater control of hygiene standards.