Antimicrobial susceptibilities and beta‐lactamase production of Shigella isolates in Crete, Greece, during the period 1991–1995

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Abstract
The susceptibility to 11 antibiotics was determined for 52 strains of Shigella isolated from patients with diarrheal disease in Crete, Greece, during the period 1991–1995. Forty‐six percent of the isolates were resistant to ampicillin, 48% to tetracycline, 44.2% to chloramphenicol, and 28.8% to cotrimoxazole. Shigella flexneri was more resistant than S. sonnei to ampicillin (82 vs 4.3%), to tetracycline (82 vs 8.7%) and to cotrimoxazole (42.8 vs 13%). Overall, 82% of all S. flexneri isolates were resistant to the three or four antimicrobial agents tested. The β‐lactamases produced by shigellae were identified by isoelectric focusing and were found to be OXA‐1, TEM‐1, and a low‐level β‐lactamase with a pI>8. The results from the present study, which is the first carried out in Crete, emphasize the need for continuous surveillance of resistance and control of antibiotic usage.