Diarrhoeagenic bacterial pathogens in HIV-positive patients with diarrhoea in rural communities of Limpopo Province, South Africa.

Potential enteric bacterial pathogens in 60 HIV-positive patients with chronic diarrhoea in rural communities of the Limpopo Province, South Africa, were identified using standard microbiological methods. The Kirby-Bauer disk-diffusion method was employed to determine antibiograms of isolated bacteria. Results revealed that diarrhoeagenic bacterial agents were isolated from 48 (80%) of the 60 HIV-positive patients with diarrhoea. Forty-four (73.3%) and 16 (26.7%) of the 60 patients were female and male respectively in the age range of 17-55 years with a mean of 34 years. Bacterial pathogens isolated comprised Campylobacter species (20.0%), Plesiomonas shigelloides (16.6%), Aeromonas species (13.3%), and Escherichia coli, Shigella and Salmonella species (10.0% each). No attempts were made to isolate parasites, fungi, or viruses. Antibiotic susceptibility profiles revealed resistance of the isolates to ampicillin, cephalothin, chloramphenicol, erythromycin, and streptomycin. However, all (100%) of P. shigelloides and Salmonella species were sensitive to nalidixic acid and ciprofloxacin. Most isolates were susceptible to nalidixic acid, ciprofloxacin, and gentamicin, indicating the usefulness of these drugs, although antibiograms may not always correlate with clinical usefulness.