THE PREVALENCE AND CLINICAL-FEATURES OF MULTIDRUG-RESISTANT SALMONELLA-TYPHI INFECTIONS IN BALUCHISTAN, PAKISTAN

Between January and July 1994, a prospective study of bacteraemia in 6 92 patients with fever without localizing signs was undertaken at the Quetta Military Hospital in Baluchistan, Pakistan. Salmonella spp. wer e isolated from 76 (11%) of the patients; 62 had S. typhi and 14 had S . paratyphi A. Significantly more isolations of S. typhi were made in the hot dry months of May and June than in the earlier months. Althoug h multi-drug resistance (to chloramphenicol ampicillin and cotrimoxazo le) was detected in 43 (69%) of the S. typhi isolates, it was not foun d in any of the S. paratyphi A. Defervescence of patients with chloram phenicol-sensitive S. typhi took 7-10 days of chloramphenicol therapy. In contrast, most (91%) of the patients infected with multi-drug resi stant S. typhi who were treated with fluoroquinolones achieved deferve scence in 1-3 days; the remainder took 4-6 days.