The Epidemiology of Childhood Salmonella Infections in Alberta, Canada.

OBJECTIVES

The objectives were to describe the incidence, demographics, laboratory findings, and suspected sources of childhood Salmonella infections in Alberta, Canada, with a focus on preventable cases.

METHODS

Data from Notifiable Disease Reports for children with nontyphoidal salmonellosis (NTS) or typhoid/paratyphoid fever from 2007 through 2015 were analyzed.

RESULTS

NTS was detected from 2285 children. Bacteremia was documented in 55 cases (2.4%), whereas a single infant had NTS meningitis. The suspected source was food (N = 577; 25.3%) followed by animal or animal manure contact (N = 426; 18.6%), of which a reptile was the suspected source in 264 cases (11.5%). There were 44 outbreaks with none sharing the same food source. Ninety-five children were diagnosed with typhoid/paratyphoid fever, of which 48 cases (51%) were typhoid cases in unimmunized children 2 years or older.

CONCLUSIONS

There are still ∼275 pediatric cases of Salmonella infection in Alberta annually, the bulk of which are preventable.

APPLICATION: Public education about reptile exposure, food safety, and pretravel immunizations could potentially prevent many cases of Salmonella infection.