1Department of Biology, Section Microbiology, King Abdulaziz University, KSA
2Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, Section Microbiology King Abdulaziz University, KSA
Online published on 8 May, 2017.
Non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) gastroenteritis is estimated to cause 93.8 million illnesses and 155, 000 deaths each year across the globe. NTS has become one of the leading food-borne illnesses in immune-compromised people, elderly and children in both developed and developing countries including Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. NTS infection is caused by Salmonella species other than Salmonella typhi and Salmonella paratyphi A, B and C. Among more than 2, 500 Salmonella serovars, Enteritidis is one of the most common serovars reported globally.
Wide range of hosts and drug resistance are the major reasons of increasing worldwide cases of NTS infection in human. The resistance rate varies with different serotypes and different antibiotics. S. enterica serotype Enteritidis, one of the most prevalent Salmonella serotypes, is relatively more susceptible to antimicrobial agents than are other serotypes. A much higher rate of resistance was found in S. enterica typhimurium, another globally prevalent serotype.
Occurrence of common strain types in NTS infections from across the globe and risk of increased morbidity and mortality in patients with resistant NTS strains require concerted efforts to combat the transmission of this ubiquitous infection.
