antibacterial activity

Diarrheal diseases continue to be the major cause of morbidity and mortality among children under 5 years. This study aimed to isolate, identify and determining the prevalence, antimicrobial susceptibility profile of Shigella sp associated with acute diarrhea among children in Kano, Northern Nigeria. A cross sectional study was conducted among children less than 5 years diagnosed with acute diarrhea and admitted to paediatric ward of Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital Kano. Stool samples from a total of 37 (20 male and 17 female) subjects were used to isolate and identified the pathogen. Antimicrobial susceptibility test was conducted using disc diffusion method. The result showed 12 out of 37 samples were positive for Shigella sp which accounted for 32.4%. Higher incidence of Shigella sp was found among subjects of age between 2 – 3 years. The isolates were 100% resistant to Ampicillin. High resistance was also observed in Amoxicillin (83.33%), Chloramphenicol (58.33%) and Tetracycline (25%). The isolates are 100% sensitive to ciprofloxacin, 66.7% to Levofloxacin and Gentamicin each and 58.33% to Erythromycin. Three (3) isolates were resistance to Ampicillin and Amoxicillin, 5 isolates were resistance to Ampicillin, Chloramphenicol and Amoxicillin while 2 isolates were resistance to Ampicillin, Chloramphenicol, Tetracycline and Amoxicillin. It is concluded that Shigella sp is one of the etiological agent of diarrhea in children. Ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin and Gentamicin are drugs of choice for treating diarrhea caused by Shigella sp.