Salmonella typhimurium enteritis and bacteremia in the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

Chronic or recurrent diarrhea is common in persons with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Although pathogenic protozoans or viruses may be seen in the gastrointestinal tracts of some of these patients, often no etiologic agent is identified. However, the isolation of S. typhimurium from three patients with the syndrome shows that this enteric organism may contribute to the enteritis frequently seen in this disease. Thus, the immunosuppression that predisposes persons with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome to protozoan, viral, fungal, and mycobacterial infections also appears to predispose them to infection with enteric bacteria, in particular S. typhimurium.