Clinical Presentation and Immune Status of Children Infected by Multi-Drug-Resistant Salmonella Strains

A total of 145 infected children of various age groups hospitalized at the Yerevan Hospital of Infectious Diseases were treated by salmonellosis within a three-year period. Among the 138 Salmonella strains, isolated from these patients, the majority (56%) were typed as S. typhimurium. Antibiotic resistance profiling demonstrated no pan susceptible Salmonella, the majority of strains were resistant to 5 and more antibiotics and antimicrobial compounds. Clinically, the severity of disease correlated with Salmonella serotype, 50% of acute diseases were associated with S. typhimurium and related serotypes. In the age group of 1 to 12 months, the level of main immunoglobulin classes (IgG, IgA, and IgM) exceeded the age norm by more than 40% in 60% of patients. In 95% of patients of this age group, the T-lymphocyte population was decreased by 38%. Immunoglobulin therapy of these patients failed to normalize the level of the three main immunoglobulin classes.