The Diagnosis of Salmonella typhi Co-infection from Blood Samples of Clinically Suspected Typhoid Fever Patients at Some Hospitals in Ondo State, Nigeria

Background: Blood samples of clinically suspected typhoid fever patients were screened for bacterial and fungal co-infection.

Methodology: The study was conducted in three different hospitals in Ondo State, Nigeria viz; State Specialists’ Hospital, Akure, Don Bosco Clinic, Akure and Federal Medical Centre, Owo, between February and May, 2013. Five hundred and twenty (520) blood samples collected from clinically suspected typhoid fever patients attending three hospitals in Ondo State, Nigeria were screened for the presence of Salmonella typhi, other bacteria and fungi using different growth media.

Results: Sixteen Salmonella typhi isolates (3.08%) were isolated and co-infection with Escherichia coli (31.25%), Shigella flexneri (12.50%), Enterobacter aerogenes (6.25%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (6.25%),Klebsiella pneumoniae (6.25%), Aspergillus flavus (6.25%), Aspergillus niger (6.25%) and Penicillium italicum(6.25%) was observed. There was co-infection of Escherichia coli with five (5) of the sixteen (16) Salmonella typhi isolates, Shigella flexneri with two (2) isolates while six of the S. typhi isolates had no co-infection. Aspergillus flavus had co-infection with two (2) Salmonella typhi isolates while A. niger and P. italicum had a co-infection with an S. typhi isolate each.

Conclusion: Co-infection of other microorganisms with S. typhi is indicative of immune compromise and other disease conditions in the typhoid fever patients.