Typhoid fever still continues to be a major public health problem, particularly in many developing countries. A simple, reliable, affordable and rapid diagnostic test has been a long-felt need of the clinicians. We, therefore,

Typhoid is a major public health concern. Even though antibiotics are usually used to treat typhoid fever, the spread of multi drug resistant Salmonella typhi is making antibiotics much less effective. This study was conducted to assess the prevalence of multidrug-resistant Salmonella typhi from the clinical samples. During this study, 154 blood samples of suspected typhoid patients were collected from the hospital and diagnostic center located in Chattogram City, Bangladesh. Isolation and identification of Salmonella typhi was done by both biochemical tests. PCR analysis was also done for the confirmation of biochemical result. Antimicrobial susceptibility test was performed according to the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method against ampicillin, chloramphenicol, cefepime, cotrimoxazole, ceptriaxone, ciprofloxacin, nalidixic acid, and azithtomycin. Out of 154, 21 (13.64%) isolates were identified as Salmonella typhi and the prevalence of typhoid in Chattogram, Bangladesh was 13.64% (n = 21). It was also found that children under the age of 5 are the more vulnerable target of Salmonella typhi infection. Antibiotic resistance profiling revealed 85% isolates were Multi-Drug Resistant (MDR) and highest resistance was found in case of Nalidixic acid. Although, most of the isolated Salmonella typhi were MDR, first generation antibiotics Co-trimoxazile, Chloramphenicol, and Ampicillin were found effective against Salmonella typhi.

Antibiotic-resistance genes carried by coliforms in drinking water is a concerning issue for public health in Bangladesh. This research was carried out to identify coliforms in drinking water and to understand the importance of the int1 gene of coliforms in the spread of resistance to bacterial antibiotics through consumption of contaminated water. A total of 31 drinking water samples were collected from restaurants ( n = 18), health center ( n = 9), and residences ( n = 4) located in Chattogram City, Bangladesh. The isolation and identification of coliforms was performed on selective media with a combination of biochemical and molecular analysis. PCR amplification of the LacZ, uidA and int1 genes was carried out for the identification of the coliform and fecal coliform and antibiotic resistant gene, respectively. Antimicrobial susceptibility test was performed according to the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method with McFarland standard against three selective antibiotics including co-trimoxazole, ciprofloxacin, and ampicillin. Of 31 drinking water samples, coliforms were detected within 32% ( n = 10) of the water samples, nine samples were collected in restaurants and one sample in a residence. But no coliform was detected in the drinking water of the health center. Among the identified coliforms, the prevalence of fecal coliforms and the int1 gene was 60% ( n = 6) and 40% ( n = 4), relatively. All isolates containing the int1 microbial-resistance gene were resistant to ampicillin.This study shows that drinking water consumed in different restaurants located in Chattogram, Bangladesh is contaminated by antibiotic-resistant gene bearing coliforms that not only increase the risk of water-borne disease, but also may be the major cause of antibiotic resistance transmission in this part of Bangladesh.

Shigella a gram negative, non-motile bacillus, is the primary causative agent of the infectious disease shigellosis, which kills 1.1 million people worldwide every year. The children under the age of five are primarily the victims of this disease. This study has been conducted to assess the prevalence of shigellosis through selective plating, biochemical test and conventional PCR assays, where the samples were collected from suspected diarrheoal patients. Invasive plasmid antigen H ( ipaH ) and O-antigenic rfc gene were used to identify Shigella spp . and S. flexneri respectively. For validation of these identification, PCR product of ipaH gene of a sample (Shigella flexneri MZS 191) has been sequenced and submitted to NCBI database (GenBank accession no- MW774908.1). Further this strain has been used as positive control.  Out of 204, around 14.2% (n=29) pediatric diarrheoal cases were screened as shigellosis. Another interesting finding was that most of shigellosis affected children were 7 months to 1 year. The significance of this study lies in the analyses of the prevalence and the molecular identification of Shigella spp . and S. flexneri that can be utilized in improving the accurate identification and the treatment of the most severe and alarming shigellosis .

Shigellaa Gram-negative, non-motile bacillus, is the primary causative agent of the infectious disease shigellosis, which kills 1.1 million people worldwideevery year. The children under the age of five are primarily the victims of this disease. This study has been conducted to assess the prevalence of shigellosis through selective plating, biochemical test and conventional PCR assays, where the samples were collected from suspected diarrheoal patients. Invasive plasmid antigen H (ipaH) and O-antigenic rfc gene were used to identify Shigella spp. and S. flexneri respectively. For validation of these identification, PCR product of ipaH gene of a sample (Shigella flexneri MZS 191) has been sequenced and submitted to NCBI database (GenBank accession no- MW774908.1). Further this strain has been used as positive control. Out of 204, around 14.2% (n = 29)(P> 0.01) pediatric diarrheoal cases were screened as shigellosis. Another interesting finding was that most of shigellosis affected children were 7 months to 1 year (P> 0.01).The significance of this study lies in the analyses of the occurrenceand the molecular identification of Shigellaspp. and S. flexneri that can be utilized in improving the accurate identification and the treatment of the most severe and alarming shigellosis.