Antibiotic susceptibility and resistance patterns of diarrhoeagenic Escherichia Coli, Shigella and Salmonella species: A need for antimicrobial stewardship and surveillance programmes

Background Diarrhoeal diseases caused by bacterial pathogens are a major cause of increased morbidity and mortality rates worldwide, especially in vulnerable populations such as children. The emergence of antibiotic resistance has affected antibiotics commonly used in the management of diarrhoea such as ampicillin, co-trimoxazole and tetracyclines. We assessed the antibiotic susceptibility and resistance patterns of diarrhoeagenic Escherichia coli, Shigella, and Salmonella species based on published studies. Method This was a narrative review in which PubMed, Google Scholar, and EMBASE databases were used to search for studies published between January 2010 and January 2021. Results This review shows that diarrhoeagenic Escherichia coli, Shigella species, and Salmonella species are among the microorganisms which have developed high resistance to antibiotics including ampicillin, co-trimoxazole and tetracyclines. However, the three diarrhoeagenic bacteria have a low resistance to ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin, and ceftriaxone and hence can be used as the drugs of choice in diarrhoeal infections. Conclusion There is a high prevalence of diarrhoea caused by Escherichia coli, Shigella species and Salmonella species. Many diarrhoeagenic bacteria have developed multi-drug resistance to antibiotics, more especially to ampicillin, co-trimoxazole and tetracyclines. Antibiotic susceptibility tests of diarrhoeagenic bacteria must be carried out before antibiotics are prescribed. More importantly, antimicrobial stewardship programmes and surveillance systems must be promoted to curb the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance both in public and private practicing sites.