Authors : N. ALHaj , N.S. Mariana , A.R. Raha and Z. Ishak
Abstract: Diarrhea caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria is an important public health problem among children in developing countries. Escherichia coli is an important cause of disease in animals and humans worldwide. Twenty five E. coli isolates with rate 61.2% among human and environments were tested for susceptibility to 10 antimicrobial agents by disk diffusion method. Resistant isolates were screened by molecular methods for resistance genes, TetA, TetB, strepA, MarI and MarII. Molecular result showed that all isolates harbored resistance gene for the TetA, TetB, strepA, MarI, and MarII even though the genotypic test showed sensitive to the drugs. E. coli isolates exhibit a wide repertoire of genetic elements to sustain antimicrobial pressure. The results of this study using pheno-genotypic techniques highlight the distribution of E. coli among human, animal, aquatic ecosystems and the potential public health threat of E. coli originating from municipal wastewater sources.
N. ALHaj , N.S. Mariana , A.R. Raha and Z. Ishak , 2007. Phenotypic and Genotypic Characterization of Antimicrobial Resistance among Diarrheagenic Escherichia coli. Research Journal of Medical Sciences, 1: 245-250.