David, SusanEhinmidu, JosephOlayinka, BusayoOlayinka, AdebolaDavid, Samuel2021-05-062021-05-062018-05http://ejournals.unilorin.edu.ng/journals/index.php/jprdp/issue/view/shittu1/David2579-0455https://uilspace.unilorin.edu.ng/handle/20.500.12484/5067E. coli is one of the main causes of both nosocomial and community acquired infections in humans and is therefore an organism of clinical importance in the lives of children. Antibiotic resistance poses a serious public health problem. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was carried on seventy (70) isolates of Escherichia coli from stool samples of diarrhoeic children below five (5) years of age with suspected gastrointestinal infections attending two hospitals and a primary health care centre in Zaria by Kirby Bauer agar diffusion method. Curing experiments of the transconjugants and resistant Escherichia coli isolates was carried out using acridine orange dye to determine if the resistant determinants were plasmid mediated. Isolates were subjected to plasmid DNA isolation following the protocol of Gene Jet TM plasmid miniprep kit.1% agarose gel was used to resolve the plasmid fragment after loading and electrophoresis carried out. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of target genes from isolated plasmid DNA was carried out. Gene specific primers were used in PCR to amplify specific fragments from genes coding for resistance to quinolones and bla CTX-M ESBL as described by the manufacturer (Iquaba Biotec). Plasmid DNA analysis on thirty-five resistant isolates showed 11 plasmid band sizes with molecular weights ranging from 2800 bp to > 5000 bp. Three isolates were found to harbour the IncK epidemiologic plasmid encoding gene for the bla CTX-M of the ESBLs and nineteen resistant isolates were also found to harbour the gyrB gene. The plasmid profiles observed in this study indicates a notable correlation between antibiotic resistance and plasmid presence. Plasmid borne resistant genes among the Escherichia coli isolates were more from the stools of children obtained from the General Hospital, Kofan-Gaya, Zaria-city, Nigeria.enAntibiotic resistanceplasmidschildrenDiarrhoeaE. coliArticle