title: Carriage prevalence of Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi in gallbladders of adult autopsy cases from Mozambique.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Typhoid fever is an important public health problem in many low-income countries where asymptomatic carriers play an important role in its dissemination. The bacterium causing typhoid fever can live in the gallstones of asymptomatic persons after the infection. These carriers are reservoirs of S. Typhi, are highly contagious, and spread the disease through the secretion of bacteria in feces and urine. The aim of this study was to determine the carrier rate in an area of Mozambique.
  
  
  METHODS
  The presence of S. Typhi was analyzed in gallbladder samples obtained from 99 adult corpses (in-hospital deaths) from Mozambique by gold-standard culture and polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Only one sample was positive with the culture. However, nine additional samples were positive by PCR and confirmed by DNA sequencing. Thus, the prevalence of S. Typhi was 10.1% (10/99).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We report a high prevalence of S. Typhi in gallbladders among adult autopsy cases from Mozambique.
authors.affiliation: Maputo Central Hospital, Maputo, Mozambique. lucilia.trindade@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Lucilia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lovane
authors.forename: Miguel J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Martinez
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Massora
authors.forename: Inacio
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Mandomando
authors.forename: Esperança
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ussene
authors.forename: Dercio
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Jordao
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Castillo
authors.forename: Mamudo R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Ismail
authors.forename: Cesaltina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lorenzoni
authors.forename: Carla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Carrilho
authors.forename: Quique
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Bassat
authors.forename: Clara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Menendez
authors.forename: Jaume
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ordi
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vila
authors.forename: Sara Maria
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Soto
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001344:Autopsy; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D002353:Carrier State / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D005704:Gallbladder / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009073:Mozambique / Q000453:epidemiology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015995:Prevalence; D012485:Salmonella typhi / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D014435:Typhoid Fever / Q000382:microbiology*; D055815:Young Adult