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. 2016 Jun 16;2016(1):3.
doi: 10.5339/qmj.2016.3. eCollection 2016.

A retrospective epidemiological study on the incidence of salmonellosis in the State of Qatar during 2004-2012

Elmoubasher Farag  1 , Humberto Guanche Garcell  2 , Nandakumar Ganesan  1 , Shazia Nadeem N Ahmed  1 , Mohammed Al-Hajri  1 , Shk Mohammed Hamad J Al Thani  1 , Salih Ali Al-Marri  1 , Emad Ibrahim  3 , Hamad Eid Al-Romaihi  1
Affiliations

A retrospective epidemiological study on the incidence of salmonellosis in the State of Qatar during 2004-2012

Elmoubasher Farag et al. Qatar Med J. .

Abstract

Background: Salmonella is a food- and water-borne pathogen that can be easily spread in a population, leading to the outbreak of salmonellosis that is caused by ingestion of mixed salads contaminated by the pathogen. Most cases occur in the late spring months and can be seen as single cases, clusters, or episodes.

Objective: The aim of this study was to describe the incidence and epidemiological characteristics of salmonellosis in the State of Qatar.

Methods: This was a retrospective, descriptive study carried out in laboratory-confirmed cases of salmonellosis during 2004-2012 from all Salmonella surveillance centers. Therapeutic records of patients who were clinically suspected of having Salmonella diseases were analyzed. Initially, cases with typhoid fever were investigated in the laboratory by means of Widal agglutination tests, while non-typhoidal Salmonella diseases were determined based on culture technique.

Results: The annual incident of salmonellosis cases were 12.3, 23.0, 30.3, 19.4, 15.3, 18.0, 22.7, 18.5, and 18.1 per 100,000 population in 2006-2011 and 2012, respectively. The number of salmonellosis cases was high among less than 2-year-old females and 3-year-old males. In addition, one-fourth of patients (27.7%) were Qatari when compared to other nationalities. A significant difference in age was found between Qatari (6.08 ± 12.28 years) and non-Qatari (15.04 ± 19.56 years) patients. Of the reported cases, 79.8% included the onset date of the first symptoms. Contact phone numbers were available for 94% of the cases but addresses were available for only 50.4% of cases. The time difference between onset of symptoms and diagnosis was 5.4 ± 5.7 days. The most frequent serotype reported were type b (41.9%), type d (26.9%), and type c1 (12.2%).

Conclusion: The present surveillance data showed a high incidence of salmonellosis in Qatar that poses a serious public health problem. Special intervention and health awareness programs are required for early screening, detection, and treatment as well as for strengthening the surveillance system of salmonellosis, with special emphasis on the laboratory study of cases.

Keywords: Qatar; Salmonella surveillance; food- and water-borne pathogen; incidence rates.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Incidence of laboratory confirmed Salmonellosis cases (per 100,000 population) during 2004-2012 in the State of Qatar.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Laboratory-confirmed salmonellosis cases reported by months in the State of Qatar, 2012.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Percentile distribution of age (years) according to gender in laboratory confirmed salmonellosis cases in the State of Qatar, 2012.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Case reported with salmonellosis according to nationalities (per 100 reported cases), Qatar, 2012.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Completeness of data in laboratory confirmed salmonellosis (per 100 notified cases), Qatar, 2012.
Figure 6.
Figure 6.
Serotype of salmonella in cases reported (per 100 isolates), Qatar, 2012.
Figure 7.
Figure 7.
Antimicrobial resistance in Salmonella isolates (per 100 isolates), Qatar, 2012.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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