Antibiotic Profiles of Bacterial Enteropathogens associated with Diarrhea among HIV Positive and Negative Patients aged below five years in Western Kenya

Background: The progressive increase in antibiotic resistance among enteric pathogens, particularly in developing countries, is an issue of special concern and it is believed that bacterial enteropathogens in AIDS patients may manifest differently from infections in immune competent hosts. Objectives: To investigate antibiotic profiles diarrhea genic E coli, Salmonella, Shigella associated with diarrhea among HIV positive and negative children aged below five years and identify factors predisposing to antibiotic resistance. Methods: Antibiotic susceptibility profiles of 105 E coli, 5 Salmonella and 6 Shigella isolates including 36 pathotypes of diarrheagenic E coli namely enteropathogenic (EPEC), Enterotoxigenic (ETEC), enteroinvasive (EIEC), enteroaggregative (EAEC), Enterohaemorrhagic E coli (EHEC) were evaluated against the antibiotics ampicillin, amikacin, ceftriaxone, cefuroxime, ceftazidime, gentamicin, cotrimoxazole, cefipime, ciprofloxacin and imipenem using the Kirby-Bauer disc-diffusion method.