Salmonella Virchow: A Cause of Significant Bloodstream Invasion

Abstract

Salmonella virchow, a food poisoning strain previously only sporadically responsible for disease, has recently been isolated with increasing frequency in Scotland. The experience of infections due to this organism in 1980 in an infectious diseases unit is reported. Nine of 15 patients consecutively admitted with infection due to this organism were found to be septicaemic on blood culture thus highlighting the invasive propensity of this serotype.

The expression of the virulence-associated effector protein gene avrA is dependent on a Salmonella enterica-specific regulatory function

“…S. enterica serovar Enteritidis (S. Enteritidis) or serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium). Strains belonging to these both serovars have been identified frequently among foodborne infections and epidemic outbreaks all over the countries of the northern hemisphere (see Olsen et al, 2001;Saeed, 1999) such as S. Agona, S. Bovismorbificans, S. Hadar, S. Virchow, and others appeared very rarely and only exceptionally in epidemic outbreaks (see Puohiniemi et al, 1997;Rabsch et al, 2005;Liesegang et al, 2002;Todd and Murdoch, 1983). The molecular mechanisms for this broad range of virulence and epidemic potency of the various Salmonella serovars are still unknown.…”

Salmonella virchowPT 26 infection in England and Wales: a case control study investigating an increase in cases during 1994

“…This hospitalization rate was 15 % which is low compared with rates of about 20 % usually reported for salmonellosis [1,[7][8][9]. This low rate is particularly surprising since S. virchow has been described in the literature as one of the more pathogenic invasive salmonellae with a high incidence of bacteraemia [10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. The low morbidity associated with S. virchow PT 26 in this study may also be related to the age range of the cases.…”

Meningism following Salmonella virchow food poisoning

“…In general, diarrhoea is uncommon in invasive salmonellosis (Saphra & Winter, 1957;Christie, 1980) -this was not, however, the experience in this outbreak where all 8 patients presenting with a non-specific systemic illness suffered diarrhoea. S. virchow may be atypical in this respect as previous reports of septicaemic patients have noted frequent or loose stools in over two thirds of cases (Mani et al, 1974;Todd & McMurdoch, 1983).…”