Three-year prevalence of enteropathogenic bacteria in an urban patient population in Germany.

The prevalence of enteropathogenic bacteria over a three-year period was 3.1% in an urban population in Germany. Nontyphoidal Salmonella spp. (1.8% prevalence) represented 59.3% of all positive isolates, followed by Campylobacter spp., which constituted 22.1% of such isolates. Clostridium difficile toxin was detected in 5.6% of samples submitted specifically for detection of cytotoxigenic C. difficile. The seasonal distribution showed an increase of Salmonella, Shigella and Aeromonas/Plesiomonas isolates in the post-holiday season, partly due to returning travelers. An epidemic five-fold increase of Salmonella enteritidis isolates was found over the three-year-period. Enteropathogenic bacteria such as Salmonella, Campylobacter and cytotoxigenic C. difficile were common etiologic agents of gastrointestinal tract infections in patients with AIDS. We conclude that travelers and HIV-infected subjects are especially prone to infection with enteropathogenic bacteria; preventive measures to control the Salmonella enteritidis epidemic are essential.