Gastrointestinal Infections

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Marnie E. Rosenthal
2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-29
Author(s):  
E.O. Irokanulo ◽  
M.A. Akalegbere

Gastrointestinal health is a precursor to general wellbeing in humans. Maintaining good normal gut flora for the health benefits they provide is important. Unfortunately, however, the good gut flora is sometimes dislodged during feeding and treatment with certain drugs. Foods that lead to such gut flora displacement may contain other microorganisms whose actions create unfavourable environmental conditions for resident flora. The principle of removing unwanted harmful gut flora; introducing good microorganisms through ingestion of live microorganisms, known as probiotics or foods that contain specific live microbes of interest is now practiced. Consumption of foods containing probiotics has long been practiced world-wide especially in rural settings and in low-income economies even though such consumptions may be unintended. Presently, careful isolation, characterization and testing of candidate probiotic organisms, has become the norm. This re-emerging phenomenon and the great impact it has on human health is considered here looking at probiotic sources; including foods, the role they play in gastrointestinal health, their mode of action and the disease types where they are beneficial to man including their safety and how their introduction in the �medical menu� in low-income nations can help in combating the rather very �regular� gastrointestinal infections in these countries.


Author(s):  
Ludmila Prokunina-Olsson ◽  
Robert D. Morrison ◽  
Adeola Obajemu ◽  
Almahamoudou Mahamar ◽  
Sungduk Kim ◽  
...  

AbstractGenetic polymorphisms within the IFNL3/IFNL4 genomic region, which encodes type III interferons, have been strongly associated with clearance of hepatitis C virus. We hypothesized that type III interferons might be important for the immune response to other pathogens as well. In a cohort of 914 Malian children, we genotyped functional variants IFNL4-rs368234815, IFNL4-rs117648444, and IFNL3-rs4803217 and analyzed episodes of malaria, gastrointestinal, and respiratory infections recorded at 30,626 clinic visits from birth up to 5 years of age. Compared to children with the rs368234815-TT/TT genotype (IFN-λ4-Null), rs368234815-dG allele was most strongly associated with an earlier time-to-first episode of gastrointestinal infections (p = 0.003). The risk of experiencing an infection episode during the follow-up was also significantly increased with rs368234815-dG allele, with OR = 1.53, 95%CI (1.13–2.07), p = 0.005 for gastrointestinal infections and OR = 1.30, 95%CI (1.02–1.65), p = 0.033 for malaria. All the associations for the moderately linked rs4803217 (r2 = 0.78 in this set) were weaker and lost significance after adjusting for rs368234815. We also analyzed all outcomes in relation to IFN-λ4-P70S groups. Our results implicate IFN-λ4 and not IFN-λ3 as the primary functional cause of genetic associations with increased overall risk and younger age at first clinical episodes but not with recurrence or intensity of several common pediatric infections.


2021 ◽  
pp. 109352662199902
Author(s):  
Stephanie Shea ◽  
Alberto Paniz-Mondolfi ◽  
Emilia Sordillo ◽  
Michael Nowak ◽  
Fumiko Dekio

Bacillus cereus is a gram-positive, rod-shaped bacterium that is commonly implicated in foodborne illness but has also become increasingly recognized as a source of serious non-gastrointestinal infections, including sepsis, meningitis, and pneumonia. Non-gastrointestinal B. cereus infections have been identified in children, especially in neonates; however, there are no previously described cases of fetal demise associated with B. cereus placental infection. We present a case of acute chorioamnionitis-related intrauterine fetal demise of twin A at 17 weeks gestation, noted two days after selective termination of twin B. Histological examination revealed numerous gram-positive bacilli in placental tissue, as well as fetal vasculature, in the setting of severe acute necrotizing chorioamnionitis and subchorionitis, intervillous abscesses, acute villitis, and peripheral acute funisitis. Cultures of maternal blood and placental tissue both yielded growth of B. cereus. This case underscores the importance of B. cereus as a human pathogen, and specifically demonstrates its potential as an agent of severe intraamniotic and placental infection with poor outcomes for the fetus.


2019 ◽  
Vol 147 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Adams ◽  
L. Byrne ◽  
J. Edge ◽  
A. Hoban ◽  
C. Jenkins ◽  
...  

Abstract Systematic, national surveillance of outbreaks of intestinal infectious disease has been undertaken by Public Health England (PHE) since 1992. Between 1992 and 2002, there were 19 outbreaks linked to raw drinking milk (RDM) or products made using raw milk, involving 229 people; 36 of these were hospitalised. There followed an eleven-year period (2003–2013) where no outbreaks linked to RDM were reported. However, since 2014 seven outbreaks of Escherichia coli O157:H7 (n = 3) or Campylobacter jejuni (n = 4) caused by contaminated RDM were investigated and reported. Between 2014 and 2017, there were 114 cases, five reported hospitalisations and one death. The data presented within this review indicated that the risk of RDM has increased since 2014. Despite the labelling requirements and recommendations that children should not consume RDM, almost a third of outbreak cases were children. In addition, there has been an increase in consumer popularity and in registered RDM producers in the UK. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) continue to provide advice on RDM to consumers and have recently made additional recommendations to enhance existing controls around registration and hygiene of RDM producers.


2010 ◽  
Vol 04 (03) ◽  
pp. 348-355 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Haukioja

The number of products containing probiotics, viable bacteria with proven health benefits, entering the market is increasing. Traditionally, probiotics have been associated with gut health, and most clinical interest has been focused on their use for prevention or treatment of gastrointestinal infections and diseases; however, during the last decade several investigators have also suggested the use of probiotics for oral health purposes. The aim of this review is to examine potential mechanisms of probiotic bacteria in the oral cavity and summarize observed effects of probiotics with respect to oral health. The review focuses on probiotic lactobacilli and bifidobacteria, genera that are most used in various probiotic products. (Eur J Dent 2010;4:348-355)


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Golnar Rahimzadeh ◽  
Majid Saeedi ◽  
Mahmood Moosazadeh ◽  
Seyyed Mohammad Hassan Hashemi ◽  
Amirhossein Babaei ◽  
...  

AbstractThe therapeutic effectiveness of a chitosan encapsulated bacteriophage cocktail as a smart biocontrol agent was evaluated in this study to be used as a preventative and treatment option for gastrointestinal infections. To evaluate the effect of the bacteriophage formulation on the treatment of gastrointestinal infection, rats were infected with Salmonella enterica, Shigella flexneri, and Escherichia coli. The rats were weighed and their stools cultured. The results showed that the group which had the chitosan encapsulated bacteriophage cocktail did not lose weight after 3 days and had significantly lower group weight changes. Weight loss was significant in the rats that had cefixime administered instead. Positive cultured stools were reduced after 4 days compared to 2 days in the treated group with the chitosan encapsulated bacteriophage cocktail. The chitosan encapsulated bacteriophage cocktail can therefore be effective in the treatment of gastrointestinal infections.


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