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Extraintestinal salmonellosis

E G Wilkins1, C Roberts

  • 1Public Health Laboratory, Fazakerley Hospital, Liverpool.

Insights

Non-typhoid Salmonella can cause invasive infections beyond the gut, frequently appearing in blood and urine. Certain serotypes, like Salmonella london, are linked to more severe invasive disease.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Non-typhoid Salmonella are known pathogens, primarily associated with gastrointestinal infections.
  • Extraintestinal manifestations of non-typhoid Salmonella infections are less common but can be severe.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To analyze the incidence and sources of extraintestinal non-typhoid Salmonella isolates.
  • To identify specific Salmonella serotypes associated with invasive extraintestinal infections.
  • To describe the spectrum of diseases caused by these pathogens outside the gastrointestinal tract.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective analysis of 6564 non-typhoid Salmonella strains isolated between 1969 and 1984.
  • Categorization of isolates based on origin (intestinal vs. extraintestinal sites).
  • Serotyping of isolates to identify specific Salmonella strains.

Main Results:

  • 3.0% (194/6564) of isolates were from extraintestinal sites.
  • Blood and urine were the most common extraintestinal sources (34% and 32%, respectively).
  • Serotypes Salmonella choleraesuis, S. dublin, S. london, S. virchow, and S. panama were associated with more invasive disease, with S. london being a novel finding.

Conclusions:

  • Non-typhoid Salmonella are occasional but significant causes of invasive disease and local sepsis outside the gastrointestinal tract.
  • Surveillance of Salmonella isolates is crucial for understanding the epidemiology of invasive infections.
  • Specific serotypes demonstrate a propensity for causing invasive extraintestinal disease.

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