Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Nov 1;61 Suppl 4(Suppl 4):S290-301.
doi: 10.1093/cid/civ737.

Invasive Salmonellosis in Kilifi, Kenya

Affiliations

Invasive Salmonellosis in Kilifi, Kenya

Esther Muthumbi et al. Clin Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Background: Invasive salmonelloses are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in Africa, but the incidence and case fatality of each disease vary markedly by region. We aimed to describe the incidence, clinical characteristics, and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of invasive salmonelloses among children and adults in Kilifi, Kenya.

Methods: We analyzed integrated clinical and laboratory records for patients presenting to the Kilifi County Hospital between 1998 and 2014. We calculated incidence, and summarized clinical features and multidrug resistance.

Results: Nontyphoidal Salmonella (NTS) accounted for 10.8% and 5.8% of bacteremia cases in children and adults, respectively, while Salmonella Typhi accounted for 0.5% and 2.1%, respectively. Among 351 NTS isolates serotyped, 160 (45.6%) were Salmonella Enteritidis and 152 (43.3%) were Salmonella Typhimurium. The incidence of NTS in children aged <5 years was 36.6 per 100 000 person-years, being highest in infants aged <7 days (174/100 000 person-years). The overall incidence of NTS in children varied markedly by location and declined significantly during the study period; the pattern of dominance of the NTS serotypes also shifted from Salmonella Enteritidis to Salmonella Typhimurium. Risk factors for invasive NTS disease were human immunodeficiency virus infection, malaria, and malnutrition; the case fatality ratio was 22.1% (71/321) in children aged <5 years and 36.7% (11/30) in adults. Multidrug resistance was present in 23.9% (84/351) of NTS isolates and 46.2% (12/26) of Salmonella Typhi isolates.

Conclusions: In Kilifi, the incidence of invasive NTS was high, especially among newborn infants, but typhoid fever was uncommon. NTS remains an important cause of bacteremia in children <5 years of age.

Keywords: Kenya; Salmonella; Typhi; incidence; nontyphoidal.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) diagram representing flow of patients. A, Children. B, Adults. Abbreviations: CSF, cerebrospinal fluid; NTS, nontyphoidal Salmonella.
Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) diagram representing flow of patients. A, Children. B, Adults. Abbreviations: CSF, cerebrospinal fluid; NTS, nontyphoidal Salmonella.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
A, Crude incidence (and 95% confidence intervals [CIs]) of nontyphoidal (NTS) bacteremia among children (<15 years) across the study period. B, Crude age-incidence curve (and 95% CIs) of NTS bacteremia among children.
None
Figure 2 continued. C, Map of the Kilifi Health and Demographic Surveillance System showing geographical distribution of the access-adjusted rates of NTS bacteremia among children aged <5 years. Abbreviation: PYO, person-years of observation.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
The relationship between multidrug resistance (MDR) and the number of nontyphoidal Salmonella (NTS) and Salmonella Typhi (A) or the number of NTS isolates per serotype (B) among children, August 1998–2014.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
The relationship between multidrug resistance (MDR) and the number of nontyphoidal Salmonella (NTS) and Salmonella Typhi (A) or the number of NTS isolates per serotype (B) among children, August 1998–2014.

References

    1. Crump JA, Luby SP, Mintz ED. The global burden of typhoid fever. Bull World Health Organ 2004; 82:346–53. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Breiman RF, Cosmas L, Njuguna H et al. Population-based incidence of typhoid fever in an urban informal settlement and a rural area in Kenya: implications for typhoid vaccine use in Africa. PLoS One 2012; 7:e29119. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Feasey NA, Dougan G, Kingsley RA, Heyderman RS, Gordon MA. Invasive non-typhoidal Salmonella disease: an emerging and neglected tropical disease in Africa. Lancet 2012; 379:2489–99. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Tabu C, Breiman RF, Ochieng B et al. Differing burden and epidemiology of non-Typhi Salmonella bacteremia in rural and urban Kenya, 2006–2009. PLoS One 2012; 7:e31237. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Berkley JA, Lowe BS, Mwangi I et al. Bacteremia among children admitted to a rural hospital in Kenya. N Engl J Med 2005; 352:39–47. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms