Three-year prevalence of enteropathogenic bacteria in an urban patient population in Germany.
The prevalence of enteropathogenic bacteria over a three-year period was 3.1% in an urban population in Germany. Nontyphoidal Salmonella spp. (1.8% prevalence) represented 59.3% of all positive isolates, followed by Campylobacter spp., which constituted 22.1% of such isolates. Clostridium difficile toxin was detected in 5.6% of samples submitted specifically for detection of cytotoxigenic C. difficile. The seasonal distribution showed an increase of Salmonella, Shigella and Aeromonas/Plesiomonas isolates in the post-holiday season, partly due to returning travelers. An epidemic five-fold increase of Salmonella enteritidis isolates was found over the three-year-period. Enteropathogenic bacteria such as Salmonella, Campylobacter and cytotoxigenic C. difficile were common etiologic agents of gastrointestinal tract infections in patients with AIDS. We conclude that travelers and HIV-infected subjects are especially prone to infection with enteropathogenic bacteria; preventive measures to control the Salmonella enteritidis epidemic are essential.
Institut für Medizinische Mikrobiologie und Infektionsimmunologie, Freien Universität Berlin, Germany.
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Liesenfeld
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Weinke
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Hahn
D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000150:complications; D000367:Age Factors; D002169:Campylobacter Infections / Q000453:epidemiology; D016360:Clostridioides difficile; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D004761:Enterocolitis, Pseudomembranous / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D016905:Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D015995:Prevalence; D012480:Salmonella Infections / Q000453:epidemiology; D012621:Seasons; D014195:Travel; D014504:Urban Health