Characterization of Salmonella enterica from invasive bloodstream infections and water sources in rural Ghana
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2018
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
BioMed Central
Abstract
Background: Non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) cause the majority of bloodstream infections in Ghana, however the
mode of transmission and source of invasive NTS in Africa are poorly understood. This study compares NTS from
water sources and invasive bloodstream infections in rural Ghana.
Methods: Blood from hospitalised, febrile children and samples from drinking water sources were analysed for
Salmonella spp. Strains were serotyped to trace possible epidemiological links between human and water-derived
isolates.. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed,
Results: In 2720 blood culture samples, 165 (6%) NTS were isolated. S. Typhimurium (70%) was the most common
serovar followed by S. Enteritidis (8%) and S. Dublin (8%). Multidrug resistance (MDR) was found in 95 (58%) NTS
isolates, including five S. Enteritidis. One S. Typhimurium showed reduced fluroquinolone susceptibility. In 511 water
samples, 19 (4%) tested positive for S. enterica with two isolates being resistant to ampicillin and one isolate being
resistant to cotrimoxazole. Serovars from water samples were not encountered in any of the clinical specimens.
Conclusion: Water analyses demonstrated that common drinking water sources were contaminated with S. enterica
posing a potential risk for transmission. However, a link between S. enterica from water sources and patients could
not be established, questioning the ability of water-derived serovars to cause invasive bloodstream infections.
Description
This article is published by BioMed Central.
Keywords
Citation
Dekker et al. BMC Infectious Diseases (2018) 18:47 DOI 10.1186/s12879-018-2957-4