A total of 1, 234 fecal samples from diarrhea cases were examined for etiological bacterial agents at medical facilities in La Paz and Sucre, Bolivia. Eighty strains of
Shigella spp., 39 strains of
Salmonella spp., 29 strains of
Vibrio cholerae, and 222 strains of enteropathogenic
Escherichia coli (139 EPEC, 55 ETEC, 29 EIEC, and 1 EHEC) were isolated. With regard to the serovars of
Shigella, S. flexneri 2a, 3a, and 1b were predominant. In the case of
Salmonella, S. enteritidis was the most common, followed by
S. typhi, S.
poona, and
S. paratyphi B. Out of 29 cholera strains, 25 belonged to biovar El Tor, serovar Ogawa while the remaining 4 were serovar Inaba. Among 55 strains of ETEC serotypes, 5 showed ST producers but none showed LT producers. Likewise, among 55 strains of enterohemorrhagic serotypes, only one strain (O157:H7) produced verocytotoxin (VT 2). The results of drug sensitivity tests revealed the predominance of
Shigella, EPEC, and ETEC strains resistant to aminobenzil-penicillin (ABPC) and trimethoprim. Since diarrheal patients in Bolivia are treated mainly with ABPC or sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim (SXT) and rarely with gentamicin, kanamycin, or other drugs, it is possible that ABPC- and SXT-resistant strains will increase and persist in the near future.
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