Study of bacterial pathogens causing diarrhoeal disease in Bombay with special reference to their antibiotic sensitivity pattern.

Diarrhoeal disease is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in developing countries, especially among children. In a study of 720 faecal samples from acute diarrhoeal patients various bacterial pathogens were isolated. An account is given of their antibiotic sensitivity pattern. Many of the E. coli, Salmonella and Shigella strains were found to be multidrug resistant. This resistance was transferable and plasmid mediated. A few of the E. coli strains isolated from healthy controls also showed multidrug resistance.