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Asymptomatic salmonellosis and drug susceptibility in the Buea District, Cameroon.

OBJECTIVES
The objectives were to investigate the prevalence of asymptomatic Salmonella infections in Buea and determine the antibiotic susceptibility pattern of isolates cultured from carriers.


DESIGN
This was a descriptive study. Subjects were randomly selected from the community. Stool samples or rectal swabs were collected after consent to participate in the study. These samples were cultured on standard media. Salmonella species isolated were tested for antibiotic sensitivity by the agar diffusion method.


SETTING
The study was carried out in three localities of the Buea district of Cameroon namely Molyko, Great Soppo and Bolifamba.


SUBJECTS
156 participants aged three months to 47 years old who were not suffering from fever, gastroenteritis or other signs and symptoms were recruited.


INTERVENTION
Carriers of Salmonella were referred to the medical doctor of the university of Buea Health Unit.


MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Asymptomatic carriers could eventually form the basis of an effective epidemiological surveillance system in developing rational strategies to control Salmonella infections.


RESULTS
Salmonella species were isolated in 62 (39.7%) subjects with the following distribution: eight (5.1%) S. typhi, 19 (12.2%) S. paratyphi and 35 (22.4%) S. typhimurium. No significant difference was observed between those who were infected with the different Salmonella species (p > 0.05). The most effective antibiotic was ofloxacin while resistance to chloramphenicol was remarkable. S. typhimurium showed the highest resistance to all antibiotics tested.


CONCLUSION
The population of Buea is at risk of acquiring Salmonella infections from asymptomatic individuals. An effective surveillance system to detect carriers and properly treat them is highly recommended.