[Typhoid and paratyphoid fever in Denmark 1986-1990. Epidemiologic aspects and the extent of bacteriological follow-up of patients].

A retrospective survey of all notified cases of typhoid and paratyphoid fever in Denmark 1986-1990 was carried out by extracting epidemiological data from the mandatory notification forms; laboratory results of diagnostic and follow-up bacteriological investigations of the patients were also obtained. A total of 161 patients were identified, corresponding to a mean incidence of 0.6 per 100,000 inhabitants per year. Salmonella typhi was isolated in 107 cases and S. paratyphi A and S. paratyphi B in 27 cases each. Median age was 21 years, range 2 months to 74 years. All but six patients probably contracted the infection abroad, most often in Pakistan or other Asian countries. Of six cases with no travel history, two were laboratory associated and two had had relevant foreign contacts. Forty percent of the patients were immigrants now resident in Denmark but infected while visiting their home countries. Only one third of the patients strictly fulfilled the recommendations for follow-up laboratory screenings. It is concluded that the incidence of typhoid and paratyphoid fever is low in Denmark and that nearly all cases are imported; secondary cases are uncommon. There is a need for simplification and modernization of the present recommendations for follow-up laboratory screenings, which date from 1943.