Flagellar serotypes of Salmonella typhi in Indonesia: relationships among motility, invasiveness, and clinical illness

Abstract

While the H1-d flagellar serotype of Salmonella typhi has been found worldwide, the H1-j serotype occurs only in Indonesia. A cross-sectional survey in Indonesia compared epidemiologic, clinical, and pathogenetic characteristics of these two serotypes. S. typhi isolates were collected from patients with acute typhoid fever in four Indonesian cities. Flagellar serotype was determined by polymerase chain reaction amplification of the fliC locus of the flg gene. Of 321 isolates, 51 (15.9%) were H1-j. Patients with H1-j infection were older than those with H1-d (P < .001). Among 30 patients with known clinical outcomes, H1-j infection was associated with milder clinical illness than H1-d (P = .06). In vitro, H1-j isolates were both less motile on semi-solid agar plates (P = .004) and less invasive of HEp-2 cells (P = .002) than H1-d isolates. The association of decreased severity of illness with decreased motility and invasiveness suggests that flagellar properties are a component of S. typhi's virulence.