A STUDY OF ENTERIC FEVER AND ANTIMICROBIAL SUSCEPTIBILITY PATTERNS AT THE MANMOHAN MEMORIAL COMMUNITY HOSPITAL IN KATHMANDU, NEPAL

Abstract

Enteric fever is one of Nepal’s most serious public health problems. An investigation was conducted to determine the prevalence of Salmonella species in enteric fever patients and the patterns of antibiotic susceptibility. In a study of 675 cases, only 22 Salmonella species were isolated. There was a low positivity rate of 3.25 % among the isolates. The prevalence of positivity was highest among those aged 15-30 years, while the incidence of the disease rose for men. The results indicated that azithromycin was 100% sensitive to Salmonella Typh and 94.12% sensitive to Salmonella Paratyphi A, and chloramphenicol was 80 and 100% sensitive to Salmonella Typhi and Paratyphi A, respectively. Both Salmonella species were 100% sensitive to ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin, ceftriaxone, and cefixime. However, all the isolates showed resistance to nalidixic acid. Out of 22 isolates, three were multidrug-resistant.