Burden, Antibiotic Resistance, and Clonality of <i>Shigella</i> spp. Implicated in Community-Acquired Acute Diarrhoea in Lilongwe, Malawi
Although numerous studies have investigated diarrhoea aetiology in many sub-Saharan African countries, recent data on <i>Shigella</i> species’ involvement in community-acquired acute diarrhoea (CA-AD) in Malawi are scarce. This study investigated the incidence, antibiotic susceptibility...
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doaj-adc85f86fb9844d9a9ad637d843b211f2021-04-28T23:04:46ZengMDPI AGTropical Medicine and Infectious Disease2414-63662021-04-016636310.3390/tropicalmed6020063Burden, Antibiotic Resistance, and Clonality of <i>Shigella</i> spp. Implicated in Community-Acquired Acute Diarrhoea in Lilongwe, MalawiAbel F.N.D. Phiri0Akebe Luther King Abia1Daniel Gyamfi Amoako2Rajab Mkakosya3Arnfinn Sundsfjord4Sabiha Y. Essack5Gunnar Skov Simonsen6Antimicrobial Research Unit, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4000, South AfricaAntimicrobial Research Unit, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4000, South AfricaAntimicrobial Research Unit, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4000, South AfricaDepartment of Pathology, College of Medicine, University of Malawi, Blantyre 3, MalawiDepartment of Microbiology and Infection Control, University Hospital of North Norway, 9038 Tromsø, NorwayAntimicrobial Research Unit, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4000, South AfricaDepartment of Microbiology and Infection Control, University Hospital of North Norway, 9038 Tromsø, NorwayAlthough numerous studies have investigated diarrhoea aetiology in many sub-Saharan African countries, recent data on <i>Shigella</i> species’ involvement in community-acquired acute diarrhoea (CA-AD) in Malawi are scarce. This study investigated the incidence, antibiotic susceptibility profile, genotypic characteristics, and clonal relationships of <i>Shigella flexneri</i> among 243 patients presenting with acute diarrhoea at a District Hospital in Lilongwe, Malawi. <i>Shigella</i> spp. were isolated and identified using standard microbiological and serological methods and confirmed by identifying the <i>ipaH</i> gene using real-time polymerase chain reaction. The isolates’ antibiotic susceptibility to 20 antibiotics was determined using the VITEK 2 system according to EUCAST guidelines. Genes conferring resistance to sulfamethoxazole (<i>sul1</i>, <i>sul2</i> and <i>sul3</i>), trimethoprim (<i>dfrA1</i>, <i>dfrA12</i> and <i>dfrA17</i>) and ampicillin (<i>oxa-1</i> and <i>oxa-2</i>), and virulence genes (<i>ipaBCD</i>, <i>sat</i>, <i>ial</i>, <i>virA</i>, <i>sen</i>, <i>set1A</i> and <i>set1B</i>) were detected by real-time PCR. Clonal relatedness was assessed using ERIC-PCR. Thirty-four <i>Shigella flexneri</i> isolates were isolated (an overall incidence of 14.0%). All the isolates were fully resistant to sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim (100%) and ampicillin (100%) but susceptible to the other antibiotics tested. The <i>sul1</i> (79%), <i>sul2</i> (79%), <i>sul3</i> (47%), <i>dfrA12</i> (71%) and <i>dfrA17</i> (56%) sulfonamide and trimethoprim resistance genes were identified; <i>Oxa-1</i>, <i>oxa-2</i> and <i>dfrA1</i> were not detected. The virulence genes <i>ipaBCD</i> (85%), <i>sat</i> (85%), <i>ial</i> (82%), <i>virA</i> (76%), <i>sen</i> (71%), <i>stx</i> (71%), <i>set1A</i> (26%) and <i>set1B</i> (18%) were detected. ERIC-PCR profiling revealed that the <i>Shigella</i> isolates were genetically distinct and clonally unrelated, indicating the potential involvement of genetically distinct <i>S. flexneri</i> in CA-AD in Malawi. The high percentage resistance to ampicillin and sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim and the presence of several virulence determinants in these isolates emphasises a need for continuous molecular surveillance studies to inform preventive measures and management of <i>Shigella</i>-associated diarrhoeal infections in Malawi.https://www.mdpi.com/2414-6366/6/2/63Diarrhoeal diseasesantibiotic resistancepublic healthlow- and middle-income countriesclonal relatednessvirulence determinants |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Abel F.N.D. Phiri Akebe Luther King Abia Daniel Gyamfi Amoako Rajab Mkakosya Arnfinn Sundsfjord Sabiha Y. Essack Gunnar Skov Simonsen |
spellingShingle |
Abel F.N.D. Phiri Akebe Luther King Abia Daniel Gyamfi Amoako Rajab Mkakosya Arnfinn Sundsfjord Sabiha Y. Essack Gunnar Skov Simonsen Burden, Antibiotic Resistance, and Clonality of <i>Shigella</i> spp. Implicated in Community-Acquired Acute Diarrhoea in Lilongwe, Malawi Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease Diarrhoeal diseases antibiotic resistance public health low- and middle-income countries clonal relatedness virulence determinants |
author_facet |
Abel F.N.D. Phiri Akebe Luther King Abia Daniel Gyamfi Amoako Rajab Mkakosya Arnfinn Sundsfjord Sabiha Y. Essack Gunnar Skov Simonsen |
author_sort |
Abel F.N.D. Phiri |
title |
Burden, Antibiotic Resistance, and Clonality of <i>Shigella</i> spp. Implicated in Community-Acquired Acute Diarrhoea in Lilongwe, Malawi |
title_short |
Burden, Antibiotic Resistance, and Clonality of <i>Shigella</i> spp. Implicated in Community-Acquired Acute Diarrhoea in Lilongwe, Malawi |
title_full |
Burden, Antibiotic Resistance, and Clonality of <i>Shigella</i> spp. Implicated in Community-Acquired Acute Diarrhoea in Lilongwe, Malawi |
title_fullStr |
Burden, Antibiotic Resistance, and Clonality of <i>Shigella</i> spp. Implicated in Community-Acquired Acute Diarrhoea in Lilongwe, Malawi |
title_full_unstemmed |
Burden, Antibiotic Resistance, and Clonality of <i>Shigella</i> spp. Implicated in Community-Acquired Acute Diarrhoea in Lilongwe, Malawi |
title_sort |
burden, antibiotic resistance, and clonality of <i>shigella</i> spp. implicated in community-acquired acute diarrhoea in lilongwe, malawi |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease |
issn |
2414-6366 |
publishDate |
2021-04-01 |
description |
Although numerous studies have investigated diarrhoea aetiology in many sub-Saharan African countries, recent data on <i>Shigella</i> species’ involvement in community-acquired acute diarrhoea (CA-AD) in Malawi are scarce. This study investigated the incidence, antibiotic susceptibility profile, genotypic characteristics, and clonal relationships of <i>Shigella flexneri</i> among 243 patients presenting with acute diarrhoea at a District Hospital in Lilongwe, Malawi. <i>Shigella</i> spp. were isolated and identified using standard microbiological and serological methods and confirmed by identifying the <i>ipaH</i> gene using real-time polymerase chain reaction. The isolates’ antibiotic susceptibility to 20 antibiotics was determined using the VITEK 2 system according to EUCAST guidelines. Genes conferring resistance to sulfamethoxazole (<i>sul1</i>, <i>sul2</i> and <i>sul3</i>), trimethoprim (<i>dfrA1</i>, <i>dfrA12</i> and <i>dfrA17</i>) and ampicillin (<i>oxa-1</i> and <i>oxa-2</i>), and virulence genes (<i>ipaBCD</i>, <i>sat</i>, <i>ial</i>, <i>virA</i>, <i>sen</i>, <i>set1A</i> and <i>set1B</i>) were detected by real-time PCR. Clonal relatedness was assessed using ERIC-PCR. Thirty-four <i>Shigella flexneri</i> isolates were isolated (an overall incidence of 14.0%). All the isolates were fully resistant to sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim (100%) and ampicillin (100%) but susceptible to the other antibiotics tested. The <i>sul1</i> (79%), <i>sul2</i> (79%), <i>sul3</i> (47%), <i>dfrA12</i> (71%) and <i>dfrA17</i> (56%) sulfonamide and trimethoprim resistance genes were identified; <i>Oxa-1</i>, <i>oxa-2</i> and <i>dfrA1</i> were not detected. The virulence genes <i>ipaBCD</i> (85%), <i>sat</i> (85%), <i>ial</i> (82%), <i>virA</i> (76%), <i>sen</i> (71%), <i>stx</i> (71%), <i>set1A</i> (26%) and <i>set1B</i> (18%) were detected. ERIC-PCR profiling revealed that the <i>Shigella</i> isolates were genetically distinct and clonally unrelated, indicating the potential involvement of genetically distinct <i>S. flexneri</i> in CA-AD in Malawi. The high percentage resistance to ampicillin and sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim and the presence of several virulence determinants in these isolates emphasises a need for continuous molecular surveillance studies to inform preventive measures and management of <i>Shigella</i>-associated diarrhoeal infections in Malawi. |
topic |
Diarrhoeal diseases antibiotic resistance public health low- and middle-income countries clonal relatedness virulence determinants |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2414-6366/6/2/63 |
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