Background & objective: Kolkata and its suburbs in eastern India are known to be endemic for typhoid fever. The objective of this study was to determine phage types, biotypes and antimicrobial resistance patterns of Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi isolated during the period 2003-2005 from a prospective surveillance for typhoid fever in two urban slums in Kolkata.
Methods: A total of 195 Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi isolated from blood cultures were phage typed, biotyped and tested for their antimicrobial susceptibility profile.
Results: Phage type E1 was the most common (60.3%) followed by phage type A among five phage types identified. Biotype I (95%) was predominant, 28 isolates were multidrug resistant (MDR) and most of the MDR strains belonged to phage type E1 and biotype I.
Interpretation & conclusion: A single phage type and biotype were prevalent among the Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi isolates studied from Kolkata, India.