Molecular epidemiology of plasmid patterns inShigella flexneritypes 1–6

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Abstract
A total of 123 drug-resistant and drug-sensitiveShigella flexneritypes 1–6, and theirEscherichia coliK12 transconjugants were used for plasmid profile analysis by agarose gel electrophoresis. Resistance factors (R-factors) were further characterized by incompatibility testing.The overall distribution of small plasmids inS. flexnerishowed that a cryptic plasmid of about 4·6 Kb was found in all serotypes, and a plasmid of about 4·2 Kb was found in serotypes 1–4.Shigella flexneritypes 2, 4 and 6 showed a 6·5 Kb plasmid which correlated with SSu-resistance. AllS. flexneriserotypes harboured large plasmids of about 217 Kb. Plasmid profile analysis ofS. flexneriin Ethiopia showed a high degree of uniformity within individual serotypes. However, there was a limited variability which, at times, could be useful for epidemiological investigation.Shigella flexneriserotypes 1–6 harboured resistance plasmids with diverse molecular weights but mostly belonging to incompatibility groups N and X.

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