Fatal transplacental infection with non-typhoidal Salmonella

Abstract

We report a case of transplacentally acquired neonatal sepsis with non-typhoid Salmonella. The infant's mother, a 36-y-old woman, presented with fever and malaise in the 25th week of gestation. Because of a pathological cardiotocogram, Caesarean section was performed a few h following admission. The premature infant had clinical signs of sepsis with multiorgan failure and died 4 d later despite intensive medical care. Maternal blood cultures and swab cultures taken from within the uterine cavity and from cutaneous and mucosal surfaces of the infant grew Salmonella virchow. This case and the few sporadic reports in the literature indicate that septicaemia due to non-typhoidal Salmonella spp. during pregnancy is highly lethal to the foetus or newborn, whereas prognosis for the mother apparently is excellent.