Strongyloides stercoralis Infestation in a Child: How a Nematode Can Affect Gut Microbiota

Background: Strongyloidiasis is a neglected tropical disease caused by the intestinal nematode Strongyloides stercoralis and characterized by gastrointestinal and pulmonary involvement. We report a pediatric case of strongyloidiasis to underline the response of the host microbiota to the perturbation induced by the nematode. Methods: We performed a 16S rRNA-metagenomic analysis of the gut microbiota of a 7-year-old female during and after S. stercolaris infection, investigating three time-point of stool samples’ ecology: T(0)- during parasite infection, T(1)- a month after parasite infection, and T(2)- two months after parasite infection. Targeted-metagenomics were used to investigate ecology and to predict the functional pathways of the gut microbiota. Results: an increase in the alpha-diversity indices in T(0)-T(1) samples was observed compared to T(2) and healthy controls (CTRLs). Beta-diversity analysis showed a shift in the relative abundance of specific gut bacterial species from T(0) to T(2) samples. Moreover, the functional prediction of the targeted-metagenomics profiles suggested an enrichment of microbial glycan and carbohydrate metabolisms in the T(0) sample compared with CTRLs. Conclusions: The herein report reinforces the literature suggestion of a putative direct or immune-mediated ability of S. stercolaris to promote the increase in bacterial diversity.