Epidemiology, clinical manifestations, and molecular typing of salmonella typhi isolated from patients with typhoid fever in Lebanon

Souha S Kanj; Zeina A Kanafani; Marwa Shehab; Nisreen Sidani; Tania Baban; Kedak Baltajian; Ghenwa K Dakdouki; Mohamad Zaatari; George F Araj; Rima Hanna Wakim; Ghassan Dbaibo; Ghassan M Matar

doi:10.1016/j.jegh.2014.07.003

Epidemiology, clinical manifestations, and molecular typing of salmonella typhi isolated from patients with typhoid fever in Lebanon

J Epidemiol Glob Health. 2015 Jun;5(2):159-65. doi: 10.1016/j.jegh.2014.07.003. Epub 2014 Sep 10.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Internal Medicine, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon; Center for Infectious Diseases Research, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon. Electronic address: [email protected].
² Department of Internal Medicine, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon; Center for Infectious Diseases Research, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon.
³ Center for Infectious Diseases Research, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon; Department of Experimental Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon.
⁴ Department of Internal Medicine, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon.
⁵ Hammoud Hospital University Medical Center, Sidon, Lebanon.
⁶ Center for Infectious Diseases Research, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon; Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon.
⁷ Center for Infectious Diseases Research, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon; Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon.

Abstract

The objective of this study was to examine the epidemiology and the clinical manifestations of typhoid fever as well as the susceptibility and strain relatedness of Salmonella typhi isolates in Lebanon from 2006 to 2007. A total of 120 patients with typhoid fever were initially identified from various areas of the country based on positive culture results for S. typhi from blood, urine, stools, bone marrow and/or positive serology. Clinical, microbiological and molecular analysis was performed on cases with complete data available. These results indicated that drinking water was an unlikely mode of transmission of the infection. Despite increasing reports of antimicrobial resistance among S. typhi isolates, the vast majority of these isolates were susceptible to various antibiotic agents, including ampicillin, cephalosporins, quinolones, and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole. Molecular analysis of the isolates revealed a predominance of one single genotype with no variation in distribution across the geographical regions.

Keywords: Enteric fever; Food borne diseases; Middle east; Molecular typing; Salmonella typhi; Typhoid fever.

Publication types

Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Child
Child, Preschool
Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial
Humans
Infant
Lebanon / epidemiology
Middle Aged
Molecular Typing
Salmonella typhi / isolation & purification*
Typhoid Fever / epidemiology*
Typhoid Fever / microbiology
Typhoid Fever / transmission
Water Microbiology