Antibiotic Resistance Pattern of Escherichia coli Isolated from Diarrhoeic and Non-diarrhoeic Under Five Children in Kano, Nigeria

Antibiotic resistance in bacterial pathogens is a global health challenge linked to high morbidity and mortality. This study was carried out among under-five children attending three major hospitals in Kano State namely: Murtala Muhammad Specialists Hospital (MMSH), Wudil General Hospital (WGH) and Bichi General Hospital (BGH), representing the three senatorial districts. Rectal swab specimens from 400 diarrhoeic and 50 non-diarrhoeic children were collected with a sterile transport swab containing Carry-Blair Medium. These were inoculated onto MacConckey and Salmonella-Shigella Agar and incubated at 37°C for 18-24 hours for isolation of bacteria. Bacterial isolates were subjected to battery of biochemical tests (IMViC and KIA) for the identification of Escherichia coli. Antimicrobial susceptibility test (AST) was carried out on E. coli isolated using modified Kirby-Bauer method. The findings revealed 74% and 66% E. coli recovery from case and control subjects respectively. The AST revealed trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole 75.1% was the most resisted antibiotic, significantly different between the case subjects (P-value=0.031), 83% were resistant to at least one class of antibiotic, 44.4% resistant to two classes of antibiotics and significantly higher in the control group (P-value=0.006) and 8.0% MDR rate. Female subjects shows higher resistance to the tested antibiotics but the differences were only significant in amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (49.6% versus 32.9%; P-value=0.003) and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (91.7% versus 57.1%; P-value=0.037) in the case and control group respectively. It can be concluded that E. coli is the predominant agent associated with diarrhoea in Kano children and high resistance of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole is noteworthy. Hence the need to revise the current diarrhoea treatment regimen for Kano children.