Title : Increased incidence of nontyphoidal salmonella infections following COVID-19 outbreak: Is it an impact of the pandemic?
Abstract:
Infection by Nontyphoidal Salmonella (NTS) is considered a zoonotic food poisoning of animal and poultry origin.NTS gastroenteritis is a major cause of diarrheal illness worldwide, which is usually self-limiting. NTS can also cause extraintestinal manifestations and serious complications such as septicemia, particularly in very young, elderly, and immunocompromised patients. Following the relaxation of the COVID-19 Outbreak lockdown, in a tertiary care centre, admissions of NTS infection showed a two-fold rise compared to pre-COVID years.
We examined 2312 and 937 stool samples collected during the pre-COVID and post-COVID outbreak period, respectively. The number of samples collected during the outbreak (2020) was 273. During the pre-COVID-19 period (2015–2019), the average annual isolation rate of NTS was 5.63%. During the lockdown of 2020, the corresponding rate was 5.49%. The isolation rate showed a significant rise (11.45%) during the relaxation of the lockdown (P < 0.001). No significant change in resistance to antibiotics other than ciprofloxacin was noted. Malignancy was the leading comorbid condition (11.91%) followed by chronic liver diseases (10.31%).
The role of CD4 deficiency leading to NTS infection is well known. The long term impact of COVID-19 infection in the immune system leading to NTS diarrhea and septicemia should be studied in detail.
