Multidrug-resistant Salmonella Found Home Aquariums

In a study in Australia they took samples of salmonella from patients gastroenteritis who owned ornamental tropical fish tanks.The type of salmonella found (Salmonella enterica serovar Paratyphi B dT+) was also found in their fish tank. This study  is the first definitive report showing that ornamental fish tanks are a reservoir for multidrug-resistant S. Paratyphi B dT+ which  causes severe disease in humans, particularly young children.

Infants and young children are much more susceptible to salmonella infection because a small number of bacteria  are needed to cause disease After a short incubation period of a few hours to one day, the bacteria multiply in the intestine causing an intestinal inflammation with diarrhea that is often has pus and  is bloody. In infants, dehydration can cause a  severe poisoning. The Salmonella can get outside the intestines causing meningitis,  inflammation of the bone and other illnesses in children.

These findings identify home aquariums containing tropical fish as the most important, but  not necessarily the only, source of multidrug-resistant S. Paratyphi B dT+.

12%–14% of Australian households have ornamental fish and as many as 12 million American and 1 million Canadian families own domestic aquariums. and because of the young age of most affected patients, multidrug-resistant S. Paratyphi B dT+ in home aquariums is a risk factor for Salmonella infection and thus becomes a public health issue.