Shigella-associated diarrhea in children in South Jakarta, Indonesia.

A surveillance of Shigella infections was conducted on 612 children aged 0-12 years-old presenting with diarrhea to Mampang and Tebet Community Health Centers in South Jakarta, Indonesia, during February 2005 through September 2007. Shigella was isolated from 9.3% of diarrhea patients in the health centers. S.flexneri which was found in 5.9% of patients, and was the most frequent species isolated, comprising 63.2% (36/57) of all Shigella species isolated. Shigella species were found significantly more often among children over 2 years old, and the rate of isolation increased with age. Stool with mucus and/or blood were the main characteristics of Shigella infection in these patients. Antibiotic multi-resistance was found in S. flexneri and S. boydii strains, in particular to ampicillin, chloramphenicol, tetracycline, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. None of the Shigella species showed resistance to nalidixic acid, norfloxacin, ciprofloxacin, or ceftriaxone