Patterns of infections, aetiological agents and antimicrobial resistance at a tertiary care hospital in northern Tanzania.

Objective: To determine the causative agents of infections and their antimicrobial susceptibility at a tertiary care hospital in Moshi, Tanzania, to guide optimal treatment.

Methods: A total of 590 specimens (stool (56), sputum (122), blood (126) and wound swabs (286)) were collected from 575 patients admitted in the medical and surgical departments. The bacterial species were determined by conventional methods, and disc diffusion was used to determine the antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of the bacterial isolates.