Salmonella and shigella bacteraemia in Zimbabwe
Pithie, A.D.; Malin, A.S.; Robertson, V.J.
Central African Journal of Medicine 39(6): 110-112
1993
ISSN/ISBN: 0008-9176 PMID: 8131197 Document Number: 409698
The case notes of patients with blood cultures positive for enterobacteriaceae were examined retrospectively over a 6-month period in Parirenyatwa Hospital, Harare, Zimbabwe. Speciation was possible for Salmonella typhi and shigellae only. Nontyphoidal salmonellae were serotyped. Salmonella or shigella bacteremia was identified in 51 patients. There were 14 isolates of S. typhi, 32 isolates of nontyphoidal salmonellae, and 5 isolates of shigellae species. The case notes of 38 patients could be identified for review, and of these HIV serology was available for 15 seropositive and 15 seronegative patients. The male to female ratio was approximately 3:1 for both groups and the mean age was 29.7 +or- 21. Nontyphoidal bacteremias as compared with typhoid fever were strongly associated with HIV seropositivity with nontyphi bacteremia died. Most strains of S. typhimurium were included in serogroup B, which accounted for 37% of nontyphoidal isolates. Earlier studies identified invasive salmonellosis in patients with other AIDS defining diseases. In Nairobi clinical features of HIV infection were found in 64% of bacteremic HIV-positive patients, but only 28% of patients fulfilled the CDC clinical case definition for AIDS. A more recent study from Nairobi demonstrated that S. typhimurium bacteremia is a common cause of intercurrent infection in HIV-positive tuberculous patients.