AUTHOR=Qi Xulin , Li Pei , Xu Xiaogang , Yuan Yiqun , Bu Shurui , Lin Dongfang 

TITLE=Epidemiological and Molecular Investigations on Salmonella Responsible for Gastrointestinal Infections in the Southwest of Shanghai From 1998 to 2017

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2019

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2019.02025

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2019.02025

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Purpose</title><p>To investigate the characteristics of gastrointestinal infections in Southwest Shanghai.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>Clinical and epidemiological characteristics of patients with <italic>Salmonella</italic> infections between 1998 and 2017 admitted to the Jinshan Hospital in the Southwest of Shanghai were retrospectively analyzed. A total of 565 isolated <italic>Salmonella</italic> strains were classified by serotyping and pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE).</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>From 1998 to 2006, diarrhea was mainly caused by <italic>Vibrio parahaemolyticus</italic> followed by <italic>Shigella</italic> and <italic>Salmonella</italic>. From 2007 to 2010, <italic>Vibrio parahaemolyticus</italic> infection was the major cause of diarrhea followed by <italic>Salmonella</italic> and <italic>Shigella</italic>. From 2011 to 2017, <italic>Salmonella</italic> infections became the main cause of diarrhea after <italic>Vibrio parahaemolyticus</italic>. <italic>Salmonella</italic> infections increased from 2006 on and peaked between May and October, accounting for 82.48% of yearly infections. Patients with <italic>Salmonella</italic> infections (90.5%) had a history of eating unclean food, abdominal pain (58.05%), diarrhea ≥5 times a day (50.44%), moderate fever (24.96%) and increased fecal leukocytes (41.42%). From 1998 to 2017, infected specimens from clinical cases were dominated by <italic>Salmonella enterica</italic> serovar Typhimurium (<italic>S</italic>. Typhimurium) (21.59%) followed by <italic>Salmonella enterica</italic> serovar Enteritis (<italic>S</italic>. Enteritidis) (16.81%), <italic>Salmonella enterica</italic> serotype London (6.55%) and <italic>Salmonella</italic> group B (13.10%). Other species included <italic>Salmonella enterica</italic> serovar Thompson, <italic>Salmonella enterica</italic> serovar Saintpaul, <italic>Salmonella</italic> group D, <italic>Salmonella</italic> group C, <italic>Salmonella enterica</italic> serovar Choleraesuis and <italic>Salmonella enterica</italic> serovar Aberdeen. The PFGE classification of <italic>Salmonella</italic> serovars in 2008–2017 demonstrated that <italic>S</italic>. Enteritidis had 9 PFGE banding patterns and <italic>S</italic>. Typhimurium 16 with varying degrees of similarity among <italic>S</italic>. Enteritidis and <italic>S</italic>. Typhimurium. The results of antibiotic susceptibility tests for the 330 <italic>Salmonella</italic> strains revealed that fosfomycin had the highest sensitivity rate (97.5%) followed by levofloxacin and ceftriaxone (81%), and ampicillin/sulbactam (78.2%). The resistance to piperacillin and ciprofloxacin was 60.9 and 50.61%, respectively.</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusion</title><p>The features of onset, epidemiological characteristics and molecular subtyping of <italic>Salmonella</italic> were conducive to clinical diagnosis, rational use of antibiotics and improved therapeutic efficacy.</p></sec>