Prevalence of Salmonella and Escherichia coli O157 from Acute Diarrheic Children in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam

Abstract

From August 2001 to July 2002 and between June and December 2004, fecal samples from 922 children with acute diarrhea admitted to hospitals at Can Tho City, Dong Thap and Soc Trang provinces were examined for the presence of Salmonella and Escherichia coli O157. Salmonella was isolated from 45 (4.9%) of 922 diarrheic children. From the 45 patients, 47 Salmonella strains were isolated and 9 serovars were identified. The predominant serovars were S. London, S. Bareilly, S. Agona and S. Typhimurium. Of the 47 Salmonella isolates examined, 12 (25.5%) of isolates showed resistance to one or more antibiotics. Of 12 resistance isolates, 11 (23.4%) showed multi-drug resistance. Salmonella seems to be an important diarrhea-causing pathogen in children in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. E. coli O157 was not isolated from any children's fecal samples with or without bloody stools.