Abstract
BACKGROUND: Food borne infections caused by Salmonella enterica species are increasing globally and pregnancy poses a significant threat in developing countries, where sanitation facilities are inadequate. Thus, the present study was designed to delineate the effect of Salmonella infection during pregnancy. METHOD: Pregnant, BALB/c mice were challenged orally with Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium on gestational day 10 and were monitored for bacterial load, hepatic injury, histopathological alterations vis-a-vis oxidant and antioxidant levels. RESULTS: Pregnant-Salmonella-infected mice had higher bacterial translocation in the liver, spleen as well as liver enzymes mainly aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase and alkaline phosphatase compared with Salmonella-infected mice. The levels of lipid peroxidation were significantly higher in all the organs of both pregnant-Salmonella-infected and Salmonella-infected mice compared with control mice. However, the activities of antioxidant enzymes (reduced glutathione, superoxide dismutase and catalase) were lower in the liver, spleen and placenta of pregnant, pregnant-Salmonella-infected and Salmonella-infected mice compared with control mice, but the decrease was more in pregnant-Salmonella-infected mice indicating depression of antioxidant defense system. Histopathologically, pregnant-Salmonella-infected mice had more architectural damage in the liver, spleen and placenta compared with other groups. CONCLUSION: Pregnancy makes the host more vulnerable to typhoid fever by affecting the physiology of pivotal organs and highlighting the importance of early and prompts diagnosis so as to avoid the further materno-fetal complications.