Background: Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal disease that can cause severe dehydration and death within the hours of its onset. Considering the importance of the disease, this study was carried out to assess the antibiotic resistance pattern of Vibrio cholerae (V. cholerae) strains isolated from the stool of cholerae patients in Kashan during 1998-2009.

Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out on stool specimens obtained from acute diarrhea cases referred to health care centers in Kashan. The samples were identified according to the guidelines established by the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS) and then the biotype and serotype of V. cholerae isolates were identified using the enzymatic method. Finally, antibiotic sensitivity testing was performed using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method.

Results: Resistance to all antibiotics except erythromycin was seen in all isolates of V. cholerae (58 isolates). The highest antibiotic resistance rate was seen for ampicillin (31%) and the lowest ones for doxycycline, ciprofloxacin and tetracycline (7.1%), respectively. Moreover, among different V. cholerae serotypes, the lowest and highest levels of antibiotic resistance were seen for Inaba and Ogawa serotypes, respectively. There was no significant difference in resistance pattern between the different age and gender groups.

Conclusion: According to the results of this study, an increased antibiotic resistance in V. cholerae has been observed which can result in the emergence of multidrug resistance and therapeutic complications.