Prevalence of Salmonella and Shigella species and their multidrug resistance patterns among pediatric populations in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

This systematic review and meta-analysis investigated the prevalence of Salmonella and Shigella species and their multidrug resistance patterns in pediatric populations in Ethiopia. Out of 742 identified studies, 21 were included for meta-analysis, involving 5318 participants. The overall pooled prevalence of Salmonella and Shigella among pediatrics in Ethiopia was 10.70%, with substantial heterogeneity across the studies. The prevalence of multidrug resistance in Salmonella and Shigella isolates was 81.03%, with substantial heterogeneity between the two species. The study concluded that the initial empirical treatment of pediatric patients remains challenging due to high antimicrobial resistance prevalence.