HUMAN INFECTION CAUSED BY SALMONELLAE OF SUBSPECIES-II TO SUBSPECIES-VI IN GERMANY, 1977-1992

Human infections by Salmonella (S.) are usually caused by S. enterica strains belonging to the subspecies I (subsp.). Strains of subsp. II-V I and S. bongori are mostly isolated from animals or environmental spe cimens, and they are therefore considered as less pathogenic for human s. Out of 90,201 S. isolates examined at the German National Reference Centre for Enteric Pathogens between 1977 to 1992, 89,798 (99.55%) be longed to S. subsp. I, while 403 (0.45%) of strains belonged to S. sub sp. II-VI and S. bongori (formerly called subsp. V). 108 strains belon ged to subsp. II, 241 isolates to subsp. IIIa and IIIb (formerly calle d Arizona), 49 to subsp. IV, 4 to S. bongori and one isolate to subsp. VI. 215 of the 403 isolates (53.4%) were from humans, 101 (25.1%) fro m reptiles, 52 (12.9%) from various warm-blooded animals, 11 (2.7%) fr om foodstuffs and 12 (3.0%) from environmental specimens. The origin o f 12 (3.0%) strains was unknown. According to the clinical diagnosis r eported by the laboratories, intestinal disease was associated with 17 6 (81.9%) out of 215 strains of human origin. 11 (5.1%) strains had be en isolated from extraintestinal infections (sepsis, atypical pneumoni a, urinary tract and wound infections), and 28 (13.0%) strains from st ool specimens of healthy persons. A slightly higher incidence was obse rved in children of 0-5 years of age (49 cases; 22.8%). Male persons w ere twice as often affected than females. The seasonal incidence of in fections was highest in October and in February. In 53 cases (24.6), t ravel to a foreign country was reported.