A Retrospective Study of Multidrug Resistant Salmonella typhi in Nigeria

Abstract

Multi-drug resistant Salmonella typhi are strains of S. typhi that can withstand the therapeutic effects of two or more antibiotics, mostly the first-line antibiotics, which include Chloramphenicol, Cotrimoxazole, Streptomycin, Tetracycline, Sulfonamides, Trimethoprim, and Ampicillin. This study was conducted to expose the detrimental effects of this issue (multi-drug resistance) among the majority of the population in Nigeria. Susceptibility tests using various antibiotics were carried out on Salmonella typhi isolated from various clinical samples in Nigeria. The data obtained from the states studied revealed that most of the Salmonella typhi isolates were 100% resistant to most of the first-line antibiotics. All S. typhi isolates in all the states studied were highly susceptible to Ciprofloxacin, except in Niger, where 90% of the isolates were resistant to this antibiotic. This study aims to create awareness about the menace of multi-drug-resistant Salmonella typhi and how the problem can be controlled through measures such as the production of new antibiotics and vaccines, the acquisition of modern health facilities and techniques for easy detection of multi-drug-resistant strains, and the development of adequate drug storage facilities.