Prevalence of Shigellosis in Pediatric Diarrheal Patients in Chattogram, Bangladesh: A Molecular Based Approach

Shigella a gram negative, non-motile bacillus, is the primary causative agent of the infectious disease shigellosis, which kills 1.1 million people worldwide every year. The children under the age of five are primarily the victims of this disease. This study has been conducted to assess the prevalence of shigellosis through selective plating, biochemical test and conventional PCR assays, where the samples were collected from suspected diarrheoal patients. Invasive plasmid antigen H ( ipaH ) and O-antigenic rfc gene were used to identify Shigella spp . and S. flexneri respectively. For validation of these identification, PCR product of ipaH gene of a sample (Shigella flexneri MZS 191) has been sequenced and submitted to NCBI database (GenBank accession no- MW774908.1 ). Further this strain has been used as positive control. Out of 204, around 14.2% (n=29) pediatric diarrheoal cases were screened as shigellosis. Another interesting finding was that most of shigellosis affected children were 7 months to 1 year. The significance of this study lies in the analyses of the prevalence and the molecular identification of Shigella spp . and S. flexneri that can be utilized in improving the accurate identification and the treatment of the most severe and alarming shigellosis.