scholarly journals Persistence of Helicobacter pylori in Heterotrophic Drinking-Water Biofilms

2008 ◽  
Vol 74 (19) ◽  
pp. 5898-5904 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. S. Gi�o ◽  
N. F. Azevedo ◽  
S. A. Wilks ◽  
M. J. Vieira ◽  
C. W. Keevil

ABSTRACT Although the route of transmission of Helicobacter pylori remains unknown, drinking water has been considered a possible transmission vector. It has been shown previously that, in water, biofilms are a protective niche for several pathogens, protecting them from stressful conditions, such as low carbon concentration, shear stress, and less-than-optimal temperatures. In this work, the influence of these three parameters on the persistence and cultivability of H. pylori in drinking-water biofilms was studied. Autochthonous biofilm consortia were formed in a two-stage chemostat system and then inoculated with the pathogen. Total numbers of H. pylori cells were determined by microscopy using a specific H. pylori 16S rRNA peptide nucleic acid probe, whereas cultivable cells were assessed by standard plating onto selective H. pylori medium. Cultivable H. pylori could not be detected at any time point, but the ability of H. pylori cells to incorporate, undergo morphological transformations, persist, and even agglomerate in biofilms for at least 31 days without a noticeable decrease in the total cell number (on average, the concentration was between 1.54 � 106 and 2.25 � 106 cells cm−2) or in the intracellular rRNA content may indicate that the loss of cultivability was due to entry into a viable but noncultivable state. Unlike previous results obtained for pure-culture H. pylori biofilms, shear stress did not negatively influence the numbers of H. pylori cells attached, suggesting that the autochthonous aquatic bacteria have an important role in retaining this pathogen in the sessile state, possibly by providing suitable microaerophilic environments or linking biomolecules to which the pathogen adheres. Therefore, biofilms appear to provide not only a safe haven for H. pylori but also a concentration mechanism so that subsequent sloughing releases a concentrated bolus of cells that might be infectious and that could escape routine grab sample microbiological analyses and be a cause of concern for public health.

2006 ◽  
Vol 72 (4) ◽  
pp. 2936-2941 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. F. Azevedo ◽  
A. R. Pinto ◽  
N. M. Reis ◽  
M. J. Vieira ◽  
C. W. Keevil

ABSTRACT Although molecular techniques have identified Helicobacter pylori in drinking water-associated biofilms, there is a lack of studies reporting what factors affect the attachment of the bacterium to plumbing materials. Therefore, the adhesion of H. pylori suspended in distilled water to stainless steel 304 (SS304) coupons placed on tissue culture plates subjected to different environmental conditions was monitored. The extent of adhesion was evaluated for different water exposure times, using epifluorescence microscopy to count total cell numbers. High shear stresses—estimated through computational fluid dynamics—negatively influenced the adhesion of H. pylori to the substrata (P < 0.001), a result that was confirmed in similar experiments with polypropylene (P < 0.05). However, the temperature and inoculation concentration appeared to have no effect on adhesion (P > 0.05). After 2 hours, H. pylori cells appeared to be isolated on the surface of SS304 and were able to form small aggregates with longer exposure times. However, the formation of a three-dimensional structure was only very rarely observed. This study suggests that the detection of the pathogen in well water described by other authors can be related to the increased ability of H. pylori to integrate into biofilms under conditions of low shear stress. It will also allow a more rational selection of locations to perform molecular or plate culture analysis for the detection of H. pylori in drinking water-associated biofilms.


2007 ◽  
Vol 73 (22) ◽  
pp. 7380-7387 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keya Sen ◽  
Nancy A. Schable ◽  
Dennis J. Lye

ABSTRACT Due to metabolic and morphological changes that can prevent Helicobacter pylori cells in water from growing on conventional media, an H. pylori-specific TaqMan quantitative PCR (qPCR) assay was developed that uses a 6-carboxyfluorescein-labeled probe (A. E. McDaniels, L. Wymer, C. Rankin, and R. Haugland, Water Res. 39:4808-4816, 2005). However, proper internal controls are needed to provide an accurate estimate of low numbers of H. pylori in drinking water. In this study, the 135-bp amplicon described by McDaniels et al. was modified at the probe binding region, using PCR mutagenesis. The fragment was incorporated into a single-copy plasmid to serve as a PCR-positive control and cloned into Escherichia coli to serve as a matrix spike. It was shown to have a detection limit of five copies, using a VIC dye-labeled probe. A DNA extraction kit was optimized that allowed sampling of an entire liter of water. Water samples spiked with the recombinant E. coli cells were shown to behave like H. pylori cells in the qPCR assay. The recombinant E. coli cells were optimized to be used at 10 cells/liter of water, where they were shown not to compete with 5 to 3,000 cells of H. pylori in a duplex qPCR assay. Four treated drinking water samples spiked with H. pylori (100 cells) demonstrated similar cycle threshold values if the chlorine disinfectant was first neutralized by sodium thiosulfate.


2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (02) ◽  
pp. 237-241
Author(s):  
Asim Khurshid ◽  
Shahid Ishaq ◽  
Mushtaq Ahmad

Objectives: Recurrent abdominal pain (RAP) impacts quality of life of the children. RAP also hampers education and physical activity of the children. Current study was aimed to find out the frequency of Helicobacter pylori in children with RAP in our tertiary care hospital. Study Design: Descriptive, cross-sectional study. Setting:  Department of Pediatric Medicine, Nishtar Hospital, Multan, Period: From 27-12-2017 to 26-06-2018. Material & Methods: A total of 185 patients suffering from RAP, aged 2-12 years, with a disease duration > 3 months, were enrolled. Age of the children, gender, duration of illness, number of episodes of pain, maternal literacy, family income, residential status, source of drinking water and h.pylori infection were calculated in these children. Post stratification chi-square test was applied to see its effect on H. Pylori infection. Results: Of these 185 study cases, 101 (54.6 %) were male patients while 84 (45.4%) were female. Mean age of our study cases was 7.57 ± 1.93 years. Of A total of 95 (51.4%) children belonged to rural areas and 90 (48.6 %) to urban areas. Helicobacter pylori infection was noted in 103 (55.7%) of our study cases. When helicobacter pylori  was stratified with regards to study variables, male gender, age < 8 years, monthly family income <Rs. 35000, source of drinking water as Hand Pump and disease duration < 6 months turned out to be statistically significant (P value < 0.05). Conclusion: Frequency of H.pylori was high in children with RAP. Helicobacter pylori was significantly associated with male gender, younger age, poor socioeconomic status, source of drinking water and disease duration.


1998 ◽  
Vol 36 (9) ◽  
pp. 2786-2788 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael S. Osato ◽  
Kamran Ayub ◽  
Hong-Hahn Le ◽  
Rita Reddy ◽  
David Y. Graham

The route of transmission of Helicobacter pylori from individual to individual remains undefined. It has recently been reported that the domestic housefly, Musca domestica, when fed pure cultures of H. pylori, was able to harbor the organism in its midgut for up to 30 h (P. Grubel, S. Hoffman, F. K. Chong, N. A. Barstein, C. Mepani, and D. R. Cave, J. Clin. Microbiol. 35:1300–1303, 1997). Our investigation examined whether houseflies could acquire H. pylori from fresh human feces. Domestic houseflies (40 flies/group) were exposed for 24 h to feces from an H. pylori-positive volunteer, feces from an H. pylori-negative volunteer, or feces from an H. pylori-negative volunteer to which a known amount of viable H. pylori had been added. At various intervals, flies were sacrificed and the midguts were excised, homogenized, and plated in duplicate onto selective horse blood agar plates. All plates were incubated under microaerobic conditions at 37°C for 14 days. Emergent colonies presumptive of H. pylori were picked and tested biochemically to confirm the identity as H. pylori. H. pylori was not recovered from houseflies fed human feces either naturally infected or artificially infected with H. pylori. These results suggest that the domestic housefly is not a vector for transmission or a reservoir forH. pylori infection.


Author(s):  
Musa Basheer Mansour ◽  
Sara Elsheikh Ahmedana

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a gram-negative pathogen that leads to chronic bacterial infection. Approximately, 50% of the world’s population is affecting even though the precise route of transmission is not known. Up to 90% of people infected with H. pylori never experience symptoms or complications and the majority remains asymptomatic. Treatment failure can occur and physician must deal with case as recommended by guidelines. This report describes the management of a man with gastritis caused by H. pylori that was failed to the three recommended regimens. The patient was initially (first visit) diagnosed as a case of stomach pain (irritation) due to spicy/chilly food. Then the patient was followed regularly up to six visits approximately for 25 weeks with clinical and laboratory assessment provided by medical prescription of recommended regimens. This paper has been reported to describe an unexpected beneficial response to treatment, report unlabeled or unapproved uses of medication and show a positive personal impact despite, the lack of advanced medical facility.


2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (03) ◽  
pp. 251-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adnan Khan ◽  
Amber Farooqui ◽  
Shahana Urooj Kazmi

Background: Prevalence of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is an increasing problem in developing countries. Several environmental factors such as overcrowding, poverty, contaminated drinking water and food are considered to contribute toward transmission of infection; however, little is known about their definitive roles. The aim of this study is to investigate the presence of H. pylori in drinking water samples of Karachi, Pakistan. Methodology: Samples of drinking water were collected from 18 different towns located in the metropolitan area of Karachi. Samples were concentrated by membrane filtration method and subjected to PCR for the detection of H. pylori. Results: Two out of 50 (4%) samples collected from two different densely populated town areas were found to be positive for H. pylori. Conclusion: The study provides evidence for the presence of H. pylori in municipal drinking water of Karachi.


2009 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 469-477 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven L. Percival ◽  
John G. Thomas

Documented evidence relating to the survival of Helicobacter pylori outside the gastric niche is extremely limited. To date the primary transmission routes of H. pylori have yet to be confirmed and when this is achieved preventive infection control measures can be implemented to reduce and ultimately prevent human infection from this pathogen. There is mounting evidence which suggests that the prevalence of H. pylori infection has a strong correlation with access to clean water, suggesting a transmission route to the host. However, there are no established culture methods for the detection of viable H. pylori in the environment, in particular drinking water supplies, preventing the development of true epidemiological and risk assessments. The aim of this review is to highlight the available data to date that suggests drinking water and possible survival in biofilms as a probable transmission mode for H. pylori.


2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 45-49
Author(s):  
Hang Li

AbstractIn recent years, many scholars conducted in-depth research onHelicobacter pyloriand identified it as an important pathogen of chronic gastritis and peptic ulcer.H. pylorialso causes also and contributes to precancerous lesions (atrophic gastritis and intestinal metaplasia) and is closely related to occurrence and development of gastric adenocarcinoma and gastric mucosa-associated lymphoma. This study summarizes biological characteristics, epidemic status, and infection route ofH. pyloriand reviews research on roles of natural environments, especially drinking water, during infection.


2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (02) ◽  
pp. 237-241
Author(s):  
Asim Khurshid ◽  
Shahid Ishaq ◽  
Mushtaq Ahmad

Objectives: Recurrent abdominal pain (RAP) impacts quality of life of the children. RAP also hampers education and physical activity of the children. Current study was aimed to find out the frequency of Helicobacter pylori in children with RAP in our tertiary care hospital. Study Design: Descriptive, cross-sectional study. Setting:  Department of Pediatric Medicine, Nishtar Hospital, Multan, Period: From 27-12-2017 to 26-06-2018. Material & Methods: A total of 185 patients suffering from RAP, aged 2-12 years, with a disease duration > 3 months, were enrolled. Age of the children, gender, duration of illness, number of episodes of pain, maternal literacy, family income, residential status, source of drinking water and h.pylori infection were calculated in these children. Post stratification chi-square test was applied to see its effect on H. Pylori infection. Results: Of these 185 study cases, 101 (54.6 %) were male patients while 84 (45.4%) were female. Mean age of our study cases was 7.57 ± 1.93 years. Of A total of 95 (51.4%) children belonged to rural areas and 90 (48.6 %) to urban areas. Helicobacter pylori infection was noted in 103 (55.7%) of our study cases. When helicobacter pylori  was stratified with regards to study variables, male gender, age < 8 years, monthly family income <Rs. 35000, source of drinking water as Hand Pump and disease duration < 6 months turned out to be statistically significant (P value < 0.05). Conclusion: Frequency of H.pylori was high in children with RAP. Helicobacter pylori was significantly associated with male gender, younger age, poor socioeconomic status, source of drinking water and disease duration.


2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 544-551
Author(s):  
Maria Aparecida Alves de Oliveira Serra ◽  
Victor Pereira Lima ◽  
Carlos Alberto Andrade Serra dos Santos ◽  
Márcio Flávio Moura de Araújo

Introduction: This study aimed to identify the Helicobacter pylori cagA+ genotype prevalent in a region of north-eastern Brazil and find possible associations between this genotype and socioeconomic variables. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 751 patients with dyspepsia from a public endoscopy clinic. Genotyping was carried out on 98 samples from gastric tissue with positive urease test for H. pylori using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Socioeconomic variables were collected via forms. Pearson’s χ2 test was used to analyze associations between variables and odds ratios were obtained to compare effects. Statistical significance was defined as p < 0.05 for univariate and multivariate analyses. Results: H. pylori infection was present in 52.7% of the patients and associated with low income and consumption of untreated drinking water. The prevalence of the cagA+ genotype was 25.5%. Low income was inversely related to the presence of cagA+ genotype, even after adjustment. Untreated drinking water consumption was associated with the presence of the cagA+ genotype in both the univariate ( p = 0.03; OR = 2.55; 95% CI: 1.008–6.48) and multivariate ( p = 0.03; OR = 2.89; 95% CI: 1.08–7.67) analyses. Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that water can be an important vehicle for the transmission of pathogenic H. pylori strains and may be a public health challenge, especially in less developed regions with precarious water and sanitary conditions.


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