Shigella-associated diarrhea in children in South Jakarta, Indonesia.

A surveillance of Shigella infections was conducted on 612 children aged 0-12 years-old presenting with diarrhea to Mampang and Tebet Community Health Centers in South Jakarta, Indonesia, during February 2005 through September 2007. Shigella was isolated from 9.3% of diarrhea patients in the health centers. S.flexneri which was found in 5.9% of patients, and was the most frequent species isolated, comprising 63.2% (36/57) of all Shigella species isolated. Shigella species were found significantly more often among children over 2 years old, and the rate of isolation increased with age. Stool with mucus and/or blood were the main characteristics of Shigella infection in these patients. Antibiotic multi-resistance was found in S. flexneri and S. boydii strains, in particular to ampicillin, chloramphenicol, tetracycline, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. None of the Shigella species showed resistance to nalidixic acid, norfloxacin, ciprofloxacin, or ceftriaxone

Growth inhibition of enteric pathogens by zinc sulfate: an in vitro study.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the inhibition effect of zinc sulfate on isolates of enteric bacteria. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Mueller-Hinton agar containing different concentrations of zinc sulfate was prepared. Isolates used in this study were obtained from local clinics. They were Salmonella typhi, Salmonella groups A, B, C, D and E, Escherichia coli, Enterobacter, Shigella and Vibrio cholerae. Overnight cultures of test organisms in brain-heart infusion broth were adjusted to 0.5 McFarland standard turbidity by adding normal saline with 1 microl of each adjusted broth culture inoculated onto zinc sulfate agar plates. The plates were incubated for 18-20 h at 37 degrees C. The inhibition concentration was recorded as the lowest concentration of zinc sulfate that completely inhibited growth. RESULTS: All enteric pathogens tested were inhibited by zinc sulfate. Of the isolates, S. typhi was most sensitive since 20% of the strains were inhibited by zinc sulfate of 0.8 mg/ml. Salmonella paratyphi A was inhibited at 1.2 mg/ml. Other Salmonella spp. were inhibited at concentrations between 1.4 and 2.0 mg/ml. V. cholerae O1 and Shigella flexneri demonstrated a similar pattern of inhibition as S. paratyphi A. A higher concentration of zinc sulfate (1.6 mg/ml) was required to completely inhibit Shigella sonnei. CONCLUSION: The findings indicate that zinc sulfate has an antimicrobial effect on enteric pathogens and may contribute to the treatment of diarrhea.