Salmonella bacteremia in African patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection

Abstract
During a two-year period, 26 Central African patients with AIDS or AIDS-related complex were seen in two Belgian hospitals and five of these patients presented with non-typhoidSalmonella bacteremia. Three additional patients were observed in a Rwandese hospital. These eight African patients were compared with 16 non-AIDS patients with non-typhoidSalmonella bacteremias. The patients with AIDS or AIDS-related complex did not have gastroenteritis, but they did have a high recurrence rate and high prevalence ofSalmonella typhimurium. Long-term antibiotic prophylaxis seems warranted for such patients despite the high frequency of side effects from antibiotics.