Outbreak of Salmonella enteritidis B in a family in southern Taiwan.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: This study describes a Salmonella outbreak in a 9-member family in Southern Taiwan, and emphasizes the risk of Salmonella infection in extreme age. METHODS: Salmonella infection was identified by blood culture, stool swab, and Widal test. A questionnaire was designed for the family to ascertain the underlying disease, symptoms, and history of untreated water and food exposure. RESULTS: Of 9 members in the family, 4 had symptoms of fever, abdominal pain, and watery diarrhea. There was a relationship between Salmonella infection and age, and associated symptoms included fever, nausea, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and weakness. CONCLUSIONS: Salmonella infection tends to occur more frequently in very young or very old people, especially elderly patients with chronic pre-existing comorbidities. Therefore, age is a significant risk factor for this symptomatic disease.

Comparison of clinical characteristics of amebic liver abscess in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected and non-HIV-infected patients.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Amebic liver abscess is an emerging parasitic disease in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients. Clinical characteristics of this disease have rarely been compared between patients with and without HIV infection. METHODS: This retrospective study included 24 patients who had been diagnosed with amebic liver abscess during a 17-year period. The demographics, clinical manifestations, radiographic findings, and outcomes were compared between HIV-infected and non-HIV-infected patients. RESULTS: Among 24 patients with amebic abscess, 8 were HIV-infected and 16 were non-HIV-infected. The mean (+/- standard deviation [SD]) age of HIV-infected patients was 41.0 +/- 11.3 years (range, 27-62 years), which was younger than that of the non-HIV-infected group (58.5 +/- 14.6 years; range, 27-77 years; p=0.01). Compared with non-HIV-infected controls, patients with HIV infection had lower white blood cell counts (median, 17.2 x 10(9)/L vs 10.4 x 10(9)/L; p=0.01), neutrophil/lymphocyte (N/L) ratio (median, 12.1 vs 2.7; p<0.01), total bilirubin (median, 42.7 micromol/L vs 13.7 micromol/L; p=0.02), blood urea nitrogen (median, 7.9 mmol/L vs 4.1 mmol/L; p=0.04), and creatinine (median, 114.9 micromol/L vs 88.4 micromol/L; p<0.01). On multivariate analysis, low N/L ratio remained a significant predictor for HIV infection (odds ratio, 0.49; 95% confidence interval, 0.264-0.912; p=0.024). No significant differences were observed in clinical manifestations, radiographic findings, and indirect hemagglutination titer between the 2 groups. CONCLUSION: HIV-infected patients with amebic liver abscess tended to have a lower N/L ratio than non-HIV-infected comparators.