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The Epidemiology of Childhood Salmonella Infections in Alberta, Canada
Kate E Faulder1, Kimberley Simmonds2, Joan L Robinson1
11 Department of Pediatrics, University of Alberta , Edmonton, Canada .
Objectives:
The objectives were to describe the incidence, demographics, laboratory findings, and suspected sources of childhood Salmonella infections in Alberta, Canada, with a focus on preventable cases.
Methods:
Data from Notifiable Disease Reports for children with nontyphoidal salmonellosis (NTS) or typhoid/paratyphoid fever from 2007 through 2015 were analyzed.
Results:
NTS was detected from 2285 children. Bacteremia was documented in 55 cases (2.4%), whereas a single infant had NTS meningitis. The suspected source was food (N = 577; 25.3%) followed by animal or animal manure contact (N = 426; 18.6%), of which a reptile was the suspected source in 264 cases (11.5%). There were 44 outbreaks with none sharing the same food source. Ninety-five children were diagnosed with typhoid/paratyphoid fever, of which 48 cases (51%) were typhoid cases in unimmunized children 2 years or older.
Conclusions:
There are still ∼275 pediatric cases of Salmonella infection in Alberta annually, the bulk of which are preventable.
Application:
Public education about reptile exposure, food safety, and pretravel immunizations could potentially prevent many cases of Salmonella infection.
