Resistant Plasmid Profile Analysis of Shigella spp Isolated from Stool Samples of School Children from Selected Communities in Odeda Local Government, Ogun State

Shigellosis is a worldwide health concern especially in developing countries with poor sanitation, lack of personal hygiene and use of contaminated water supplies especially for young children. The emergence of multidrug-resistant Shigella strains incidence imply that shigellosis is an unsolved global health problem causing diarrhoea. This study therefore was carried out to determine the resistant plasmids of multidrug resistant serotypes of Shigella species isolated from stool samples of school children among selected communities in Odeda Local government with their biodata. A total of 10 Shigella spp isolates were obtained from stool samples collected from school children. Antibiotics susceptibility was performed and multi-drug resistant isolates were selected for plasmid profiling. Plasmid profiling of multi-drug resistant Shigella isolates was done by alkaline lysis method. Molecular characterization for identification of the bacterial isolates was carried out using 16S rRNA gene sequencing method. Data obtained were analyzed using One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Somatic serotyping characterized the isolates to be Shigella flexneri (2.02%), Shigella boydii (1.2%) and Shigella sonnei (0.81%). Plasmid profile analysis showed detectable plasmids with estimated sizes between 100bp to 1200bp. Genomic characterization revealed the isolates belonging to Shigella sonnei strain M-X2D, Shigella flexneri strain MHW4.1 and Shigella boydii strain 3052-94. This study confirmed the emergence of multidrug resistant R-plasmids among Shigella spp causing diarrhoea amongst school children in Abeokuta environs, Nigeria