Antibiotic resistance in Escherichia coli from Nigerian students, 1986 1998

We tested 758 fecal Escherichia coli isolates, recovered from Nigerian students in 1986, 1988, 1990, 1994, and 1998, for susceptibility to seven antimicrobial drugs. The prevalences of strains resistant to tetracycline, ampicillin, chloramphenicol, and streptomycin were 9% to 35% in 1986 and 56% to 100% in 1998. These findings demonstrate that resistance gene reservoirs are increasing in healthy persons.