Fatal transplacental infection with non-typhoidal Salmonella.

We report a case of transplacentally acquired neonatal sepsis with non-typhoid Salmonella. The infant's mother, a 36-y-old woman, presented with fever and malaise in the 25th week of gestation. Because of a pathological cardiotocogram, Caesarean section was performed a few h following admission. The premature infant had clinical signs of sepsis with multiorgan failure and died 4 d later despite intensive medical care. Maternal blood cultures and swab cultures taken from within the uterine cavity and from cutaneous and mucosal surfaces of the infant grew Salmonella virchow. This case and the few sporadic reports in the literature indicate that septicaemia due to non-typhoidal Salmonella spp. during pregnancy is highly lethal to the foetus or newborn, whereas prognosis for the mother apparently is excellent.

Fatal Salmonella enteritidis sepsis acquired prenatally in a premature infant.

BACKGROUND: Before the advent of antibiotic therapy, Salmonella typhi infection during pregnancy was associated with a high incidence of fetal and neonatal death. Little information is available about the risk to the fetus or the newborn of a pregnant woman infected by non-typhoid salmonella, and treatment recommendations do not exist. CASE: We report a case of transplacental infection of a fetus by non-typhoid salmonella in a woman with gastroenteritis. Salmonella enteritidis was cultured from stool of the pregnant woman, who had diarrhea and fever before cesarean was performed at 29 weeks' gestation. The premature girl died 4 hours after birth from septic shock. Salmonella enteritidis was cultured from blood cultures and swabs of the premature infant and from the placenta and uterus. CONCLUSION: This observation argues in favor of antibiotic treatment for non-typhoid salmonella infection in pregnancy because of the risk of transplacental infection of the fetus.