06 November 2010
A large population-based study presented here at Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) 48th Annual Meeting shows racial differences in the rate of infant salmonellosis. Black infants were at greater risk than white or Asian infants for infection, invasive disease, and hospitalization.
Of 7930 cases of infant salmonellosis (6179 with information on race), 61% were white, 30% were black, 6% were Asian, and the rest were "other." Asian infants were older (median age, 31.5 weeks) than either black (23.6 weeks) or white (22.7 weeks) infants.
For salmonellosis, the average annual incidence rate per 100,000 person-years (AAI), based on US Census estimates, in black infants was 162.7, in Asians was 114.3, and in whites was 84.1.
The AAI for invasive disease was highest for black infants, at 15.1, was 7.5 for Asians, and was 3.0 for whites. Blacks had the highest rate of invasive disease (9.4%), followed by Asians (6.6%), and whites (3.6%). The proportion of cases hospitalized was 16.1% for Asians, 35.0% for blacks, and 29.1% for whites.