Salmonella virchow: abscess former amongst the contemporary invasive salmonellae?

Abstract

Abscess formation associated with salmonella infections has long been recognised – but without implicating a particular serotype. The pathogenicity, invasiveness and increasingly frequent isolation of Salmonella virchow in the UK is well established. It's propensity to abscess formation is, however, less well recognised. We report 5 patients with abscesses due to S. virchow. This represents a disproportionate number of abcesses in relation to the salmonella isolations in North East Scotland during the 5-year period under scrutiny. We suggest that this organism should be considered as aetiologically relevant even where there is no history of preceding gastrointestinal infection.