Serogroups and antimicrobial susceptibility of clinical isolates of Salmonella species from a teaching hospital in Kuwait

Salmonella strains isolated in a teaching-cum-general hospital in Kuwait du ring 1990-1993 and 1996 were analysed to determine the trend in the prevale nce of the serogroups and their changing pattern of susceptibility. The rec ords were reviewed for all the 661 isolates encountered during these period s. The most prevalent serogroup in both children and adults was serogroup B , followed by serogroup C and D. A sizeable proportion of the strains were resistant to first-line drugs. About 39% of the isolates were resistant to ampicillin, 17% to co-trimoxazole, 13% to chloramphenicol, and 15% to cepha lothin. The majority were, however, susceptible to the other drugs with low to very low resistance rates: 7% to amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, and 0.3% to cefotaxime. All the strains were susceptible to ciprofloxacin. In all, r esistant strains were more prevalent among children than adults.