Decrease of antibiotic resistance in Salmonella typhi isolated from patients attending hospitals of Dhaka City over a 3 year period.

Salmonella typhi is an important cause of enteric fever in Bangladesh. Resistance to commonly used antibiotics like cotrimoxazole and ampicillin has led to the introduction of third generation cephalosporins and fluoroquinolones for the treatment of enteric fever. Prescription patterns for enteric fevers and for other infections have been changing and so we looked at the antibiotic resistance of S. typhi isolated from patients in and around Dhaka City from 1996-1998. The study showed a gradual change in resistance to ampicillin and cotrimoxazole among S. typhi in our area. The rate of resistance to cotrimoxazole, ampicillin and chloramphenicol decreased from 59.6 to 5.6% in S. typhi over a 3 year period. The extensive use of third generation cephalosporins and fluoroquinolones, in place of conventional antibiotics, has probably influenced the change in resistance pattern in S. typhi.