Fecal Salmonella carriers in the Chinese army recruits in Taiwan

A survey for Salmonella carriers in the Chinese army recruits was made. Each isolated strain was identified by conventional biochemical tests, rapid Inolex plates, and for identification serological methods. The rapid Inolex plates could save approximately 24-48 hours for identification. Salmonella was detected in 1.83% of the rectal swabs collected from 1,150 recruits and 50 cooks. Among the 22 isolates 5, 1, 5, and 6 strains were identified as Salmonella groups: B, C1, D and E1 respectively and 5 strains were ungroupable. Salmonella isolates were found to be susceptible to chloramphenicol, kanamycin, ampicillin and tetracycline. Chloramphenicol or kanamycin is still the drug of choice for treatment of Salmonella infections, but the former should be used with caution.