Shigellosis presents with varied clinical features are dictated by the species involved, virulence factors of the
strain, and the host immune status. We studied the species, virulence genes, and antibiotic susceptibility
pattern of the
Shigella strains isolated from 33 children aged less than 12 years, with clinical features of shigellosis.
Identification and antibiotic sensitivity of
Shigella species were done using disc diffusion and E-test.
Multiplex PCR was done for the detection of virulence genes (
ipaH,
ial,
set1A,
set1B,
sen, and
stx) and ESBL
genes. Parents of the children were interviewed using structured questionnaire to assess the severity of the
disease; 26 (79%) of the isolates were
Shigella flexneri
. Ciprofloxacin and ceftriaxone resistance was seen in
23 (69%) and 3 (9%)
Shigella isolates respectively. Two ceftriaxone-resistant strains were found to harbour
blaCTX gene and the third
blaTEM gene. Virulence gene
ipaH was detected in 100% of strains while
ial,
sen,
set1A, and
set1B were detected in 85%, 61%, 48%, and 48% respectively.
