Plesiomonas shigelloides associated with diarrhoeal disease in Malaysian children

Plesiomonas shigelloides was isolated from 5 (2.1%) of the 234 children with diarrhoea and none of the 230 controls. In one child, the organism was found in association with Salmonella. Two strains had Shigella sonnei phase I antigen. All the strains were susceptible to the aminoglycosides, cephalosporins, nalidixic acid, nitrofurantoin, chloramphenicol and cotrimoxazole; but resistant to the penicillins. Alkaline peptone water enrichment subcultured to desoxycholale citrate agar proved to be a useful method for isolating this organism from faeces. As the roie of P. shigelloides in causing gastrointestinal disease remains controversial, further studies are necessary to determine its enteropathogenicily.