704. Contemporary Salmonella spp. Infections in Houston, TX (2019 and 2020) and Emergence of Cephalosporin Resistance

Background Salmonella spp. Infections are a significant cause of morbidity in children in the United States. Contemporary clinical and microbiological characteristics of pediatric Salmonella infections in urban cities are not well described. Methods We used a retrospective chart review of records (0-18 years of age) from a network of hospitals (n=11) in Houston, TX. Only patients with Salmonella spp. isolated from clinical samples in 2019 and 2020 were included. Demographic, clinical, and microbiological data were extracted from the medical record. Results A total of 35 pediatric cases of Salmonella spp infection were identified over the two-year period. Median age was 1.6 years with over one-third (13/35, 37.1%) under one year (Table 1). Nearly half (15/35, 42.9%) of patients required hospitalization with a median length of stay of 2 days. From cases with available clinical data (n=31), most common symptoms were fever (22/31, 71%) and bloody diarrhea (21/31, 67.7%) (Table 2). Bacteremia was detected in 17.1% (6/35) of cases (Table 3). Exposure history was elicited in 29% (9/31) of cases with foreign travel being most common risk factor (Table 2). All speciated isolates were Salmonella enterica with the majority (24/29, 82.8%) subspecies enterica. Of 24 samples with serotype information, the most common was infantis (Table 3). A single isolate was resistant to all antibiotics tested except meropenem (Table 3) and was recovered from a patient after travel to Pakistan. Nearly half of patients (15/31, 48.4%) received definitive therapy with a third generation cephalosporin antibiotic. Complications were rare and included septic arthritis/osteomyelitis (n=1), UTI (n=3), coagulopathy (n=1), and hepatitis (n=1). Conclusion Salmonella spp. Infections were common in the Houston metropolitan area over the 2-year period and occurred primarily in young children. Foreign travel seems to be a major risk factor for acquisition of this infection in children. For the first time, the identification of a multi-drug resistant Salmonella isolate suggests that this phenotype is likely to increase and highlights the importance of ongoing surveillance. Disclosures Anthony R. Flores, MD, MPH, PhD, Nothing to disclose Cesar A. Arias, M.D., MSc, Ph.D., FIDSA, Entasis Therapeutics (Grant/Research Support)MeMed Diagnostics (Grant/Research Support)Merk (Grant/Research Support)