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Background: The primary aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence, characteristics, and antimicrobial resistance patterns of various Shigella serotypes isolated from patients with acute diarrhea of the Infectious Diseases Hospital in Kolkata from 2011–2019. Principal findings: During the study period, Shigella isolates were tested for their serotypes, antibiotic resistance pattern and virulence gene profiles. A total of 5.8% of Shigella spp. were isolated, among which S. flexneri (76.1%) was the highest, followed by S. sonnei (18.7%), S. boydii (3.4%), and S. dysenteriae (1.8%). Antimicrobial resistance against nalidixic acid was higher in almost all the Shigella isolates, while the resistance to β-lactamases, fluoroquinolones, tetracycline, and chloramphenicol diverged. The occurrence of multidrug resistance was found to be linked with various genes encoding drug-resistance, multiple mutations in the topoisomerase genes, and mobile genetic elements. All the isolates were positive for the invasion plasmid antigen H gene (ipaH). Dendrogram analysis of the plasmid and pulsed-field electrophoresis (PFGE) profiles revealed 70–80% clonal similarity among each Shigella serotype. Conclusion: This comprehensive long-term surveillance report highlights the clonal diversity of clinical Shigella strains circulating in Kolkata, India, and shows alarming resistance trends towards recommended antibiotics. The elucidation of this study's outcome is helpful not only in identifying emerging antimicrobial resistance patterns of Shigella spp. but also in developing treatment guidelines appropriate for this region. Author summary: Shigella spp. is one of the WHO-designated "antibiotic-resistant priority pathogens" that is the leading cause of bacterial diarrhea among children worldwide. The distribution of Shigella species varies depending on the geographic location, particularly in regions where environmental risk factors like substandard water quality, limited healthcare accessibility, and insufficient sanitation are widespread. The presence of serotype diversity and drug resistance combinations often leads to treatment failures. Therefore, it is crucial to comprehend the prevailing serogroups and antimicrobial resistance patterns of Shigella species in different geographical areas to implement effective treatment strategies. We have identified 535 Shigella positive cases from 9276 diarrheal cases. Multidrug-resistant (MDR) Shigella globally requires a profound understanding of its genetic diversity, as there is significant regional variation in MDR strains. In our study, we observed a broad spectrum of resistance among the Shigella strains, with over 53.6% of the isolates demonstrating multidrug resistance. Representative isolates were evaluated for antimicrobial resistance encoding and virulence-associated genes as they enact significantly in disease development and interaction with the host immune system. This report marks the initial presentation of the outcomes from long-term surveillance and molecular characterization of antimicrobial resistances in clinical Shigella strains in Kolkata since 2011. The outcome of this investigations will guide in identifying emerging antimicrobial resistance trend, formulating suitable treatment guidelines tailored to the community's needs, and establishing baseline data for comparison with potential outbreak strains in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study aimed to identify virulent and antimicrobial resistant genes in fecal E. coli in Mbouda, Cameroon. Methods: A total of 599 fecal samples were collected from patients with enteric infections who were = 20 years old. E. coli was isolated on the MacConkey agar and virulent genes were detected by multiplex/simplex PCR. Isolates in which = 1 virulent gene was detected were subjected to antibiotic susceptibility testing. The resulting resistant isolates were subjected to PCR, followed by sequencing for resistant genes detection. Results: There were 119 enterovirulent E. coli identified, amongst which 47.05% were atypical enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC), 36.97% enterotoxigenic E. coli, 10.08% Shiga toxin producing E. coli (STEC) and 5.88% were enteroinvasive E. coli (EIEC). The occurrence of the eae gene (47.06%) was higher compared with CVD432 (33.61%), aaic (13.45%), stx2 (10.08%) and stx1 (0.84%). High resistance rates were noted for ampicillin (94.64% EPEC, 91.67% STEC, 59.09% EAEC, and 57.14% EIEC) and sulfamethoxazoletrimethoprim (100% EPEC and 83.33% STEC, 81.82% EAEC and 71.43% EIEC). sul2 (71.43%), tetB (64.71%), tetA (59.94%) and blaTEM (52.10%) were detected. A double mutation (S83L; D87N) was seen in gyrA and a single mutation (S80I) was observed in parC. Conclusion: These findings suggested that measures should be taken to reduce the harm of E. coli to public health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]