Changing trends in drug resistance among typhoid salmonellae in Rawalpindi, Pakistan

We analysed the record of blood cultures carried out at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Rawalpindi between 1996 and 2003. We isolated 477 Salmonella typhi and 410 S. paratyphi A from blood of patients suffering from typhoid fever. We observed a significant shift in the distribution and antimicrobial susceptibility of typhoid salmonellae. The isolation rate of S. typhi fell significantly while S. paratyphi A is emerging as a major pathogen. Resistance to conventional antityphoid drugs in S. typhi decreased dramatically from 80% to 14%, while in S. paratyphi A resistance increased from 14% to 44%. Susceptibility to the fluoroquinolones decreased in both. No resistance to third generation cephalosporins was detected.