1672. Imported Enteric Fever in an Ethnically Diverse Area of London

Abstract

BackgroundTyphoid is a leading cause of fever in returning travelers, particularly those visiting friends and relatives in the Indian subcontinent. We reviewed a cohort of patients with enteric fever from our hospitals in North West London, which serves a large Indian resident population.MethodsRetrospective analysis of electronic laboratory, microbiology and medical records of all patients with blood cultures positive for Salmonella enterica serotypes typhi (S.typhi) or paratyphi (S.paratyphi) A, B and C from January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2018 at London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust. Organisms were cultured on selective media and identified by API 20E (BioMerieux) or MALDI TOF MS (Bruker).Results37 blood cultures positive for S.typhi were identified from 26 patients and 37 blood cultures positive for S.paratyphi were identified from 23 patients. The median age was 28 years (range 1–79 years). Infection was more common in males (27/49, 55%) compared with females (22/49, 45%) but this was not statistically significant. Most patients (31/49) had traveled to India. Travel history was not identified for 9 patients. Laboratory results at presentation were available for all patients. Lymphopenia (defined as <1.5 × 109/L) was found in 12/23 (52%) patients with S.paratyphi compared with 10/26 (38%) of those with S. typhi. Thrombocytopenia (defined as <150 × 109/L) was found equally in both groups (22% in S. paratyphi, 27% in S. typhi). Raised alanine transferase (ALT) (defined as >35 IU/L) was seen in 14/23 (61%) in S. paratyphi compared with 19/26 (73%) in S. typhi. Median platelet count was similar in both groups (199 × 109/L in S. paratyphi, 202 × 109/L in S. typhi). Absolute eosinopenia was seen in all patients, consistent with other observational studies. For 3 patients, antibiotic sensitivities were not available. Regarding S. paratyphi cases, 16/21 (76%) were resistant to ciprofloxacin compared with 20/25 (80%) in S. typhi. Azithromycin resistance was seen in 5/46 (11%). All isolates were susceptible to third-generation cephalosporins.ConclusionThere is a high rate of ciprofloxacin resistance in this cohort of patients with enteric fever, confirming that the use of third-generation cephalosporins and macrolides in travelers to India is most appropriate for treatment.Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.