The antibiotic susceptibility pattern of Vibrio cholerae
O139, Bengal, an emerging intestinal
pathogen has been determined by the Kirby Bauer technique and the MIC values
of some
antibiotics against these strains by agar dilution technique. All the
strains were susceptible to
tetracycline, norfloxacin, ciprofloxacin and a majority was
susceptible to gentamicin (95·7%)
and nalidixic acid (82·9%). Only 51% were susceptible to cefotaxime
and most strains were
resistant to furazolidone (95·7%), ampicillin (87·3%) and
co-trimoxazole (91·5%). The study
shows the importance of judicious use of antibiotics in cholera cases
and the need for
monitoring the susceptibility status of these strains particularly
because of their ability to cause
extra-intestinal infections like septicaemia.