Invasive Non-typhoidal Salmonella (iNTS) Infections

Salmonella enterica invade the host via the intestinal tract. There are similar to 2 thousand distinct serovars of non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) that can cause gastroenteritis in normal hosts, but bacteremia is an uncommon complication of gastroenteritis except at the extremes of age (in Graham et al. Nontyphoidal Salmonella infections of children in tropical Africa. Pediatr Infect Dis J 2000; 19:1189-96). In contrast, enteric fever and invasive NTS infections (iNTS) are each caused by only a few serovars of S. enterica (Table 1), and bacteremia not gastroenteritis is their principal manifestation.

Automated summary

Salmonella enterica invades the host through the intestinal tract, causing gastroenteritis with approximately 2,000 distinct serovars in normal hosts. However, bacteremia is a rare complication except in extreme ages. Enteric fever and invasive NTS infections are primarily caused by only a few serovars.