Cargando…

Tropheryma whipplei, Helicobacter pylori, and Intestinal Protozoal Co-Infections in Italian and Immigrant Populations: A Cross-Sectional Study

Tropheryma whipplei (TW), Helicobacter pylori (HP), and intestinal protozoa (IP) are widespread pathogens with similar routes of transmission and epidemiological risk factors. Epidemiological data on co-infection between TW, HP, and IP are scarce. We aim to more deeply investigate the co-infection r...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Moro, Lucia, Pomari, Elena, Leonardi, Martina, La Marca, Giulia, Pajola, Barbara, Mazzi, Cristina, Piubelli, Chiara, Beltrame, Anna
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9027763/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35456819
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10040769
_version_ 1784691446975037440
author Moro, Lucia
Pomari, Elena
Leonardi, Martina
La Marca, Giulia
Pajola, Barbara
Mazzi, Cristina
Piubelli, Chiara
Beltrame, Anna
author_facet Moro, Lucia
Pomari, Elena
Leonardi, Martina
La Marca, Giulia
Pajola, Barbara
Mazzi, Cristina
Piubelli, Chiara
Beltrame, Anna
author_sort Moro, Lucia
collection PubMed
description Tropheryma whipplei (TW), Helicobacter pylori (HP), and intestinal protozoa (IP) are widespread pathogens with similar routes of transmission and epidemiological risk factors. Epidemiological data on co-infection between TW, HP, and IP are scarce. We aim to more deeply investigate the co-infection rate for these pathogens, evaluating the risk factors and symptoms. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted at the IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital in Northern Italy, a referral center for tropical and Whipple’s disease (WD). Stored stool samples from 143 subjects previously tested for TW DNA by real-time PCR were explored for HP and IP DNA detection. The virulence factor cagA was investigated in HP-positive patients. Results: A history of migration was reported significantly more in TW-positive than in negative subjects (34.1% vs. 9.1%, p = 0.001) and in HP-infected than in those non-infected (59.1% vs. 9.1%, p < 0.001). The HP infection rate differed significantly between TW-infected and uninfected groups (31.8% vs. 8.1%, p = 0.001), while no difference was observed for IP infection. Significantly higher TW intestinal colonization was found in HP-infected patients than in non-infected (63.6% vs. 24.8%, p < 0.001). In addition, the proportion of Blastocysts positive finding was also significantly higher in HP-infected than in non-infected (40.9% vs. 17.4%, p = 0.018). Conclusions: The present study is the first to report a high TW and HP co-infection rate. To reduce the risk of morbidity from a chronic infection of either pathogen, clinicians may consider TW-HP molecular screening on the same stool sample for patients with suspected HP disease or WD, particularly in case of travel history.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-9027763
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2022
publisher MDPI
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-90277632022-04-23 Tropheryma whipplei, Helicobacter pylori, and Intestinal Protozoal Co-Infections in Italian and Immigrant Populations: A Cross-Sectional Study Moro, Lucia Pomari, Elena Leonardi, Martina La Marca, Giulia Pajola, Barbara Mazzi, Cristina Piubelli, Chiara Beltrame, Anna Microorganisms Article Tropheryma whipplei (TW), Helicobacter pylori (HP), and intestinal protozoa (IP) are widespread pathogens with similar routes of transmission and epidemiological risk factors. Epidemiological data on co-infection between TW, HP, and IP are scarce. We aim to more deeply investigate the co-infection rate for these pathogens, evaluating the risk factors and symptoms. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted at the IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital in Northern Italy, a referral center for tropical and Whipple’s disease (WD). Stored stool samples from 143 subjects previously tested for TW DNA by real-time PCR were explored for HP and IP DNA detection. The virulence factor cagA was investigated in HP-positive patients. Results: A history of migration was reported significantly more in TW-positive than in negative subjects (34.1% vs. 9.1%, p = 0.001) and in HP-infected than in those non-infected (59.1% vs. 9.1%, p < 0.001). The HP infection rate differed significantly between TW-infected and uninfected groups (31.8% vs. 8.1%, p = 0.001), while no difference was observed for IP infection. Significantly higher TW intestinal colonization was found in HP-infected patients than in non-infected (63.6% vs. 24.8%, p < 0.001). In addition, the proportion of Blastocysts positive finding was also significantly higher in HP-infected than in non-infected (40.9% vs. 17.4%, p = 0.018). Conclusions: The present study is the first to report a high TW and HP co-infection rate. To reduce the risk of morbidity from a chronic infection of either pathogen, clinicians may consider TW-HP molecular screening on the same stool sample for patients with suspected HP disease or WD, particularly in case of travel history. MDPI 2022-04-02 /pmc/articles/PMC9027763/ /pubmed/35456819 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10040769 Text en © 2022 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Moro, Lucia
Pomari, Elena
Leonardi, Martina
La Marca, Giulia
Pajola, Barbara
Mazzi, Cristina
Piubelli, Chiara
Beltrame, Anna
Tropheryma whipplei, Helicobacter pylori, and Intestinal Protozoal Co-Infections in Italian and Immigrant Populations: A Cross-Sectional Study
title Tropheryma whipplei, Helicobacter pylori, and Intestinal Protozoal Co-Infections in Italian and Immigrant Populations: A Cross-Sectional Study
title_full Tropheryma whipplei, Helicobacter pylori, and Intestinal Protozoal Co-Infections in Italian and Immigrant Populations: A Cross-Sectional Study
title_fullStr Tropheryma whipplei, Helicobacter pylori, and Intestinal Protozoal Co-Infections in Italian and Immigrant Populations: A Cross-Sectional Study
title_full_unstemmed Tropheryma whipplei, Helicobacter pylori, and Intestinal Protozoal Co-Infections in Italian and Immigrant Populations: A Cross-Sectional Study
title_short Tropheryma whipplei, Helicobacter pylori, and Intestinal Protozoal Co-Infections in Italian and Immigrant Populations: A Cross-Sectional Study
title_sort tropheryma whipplei, helicobacter pylori, and intestinal protozoal co-infections in italian and immigrant populations: a cross-sectional study
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9027763/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35456819
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10040769
work_keys_str_mv AT morolucia tropherymawhippleihelicobacterpyloriandintestinalprotozoalcoinfectionsinitalianandimmigrantpopulationsacrosssectionalstudy
AT pomarielena tropherymawhippleihelicobacterpyloriandintestinalprotozoalcoinfectionsinitalianandimmigrantpopulationsacrosssectionalstudy
AT leonardimartina tropherymawhippleihelicobacterpyloriandintestinalprotozoalcoinfectionsinitalianandimmigrantpopulationsacrosssectionalstudy
AT lamarcagiulia tropherymawhippleihelicobacterpyloriandintestinalprotozoalcoinfectionsinitalianandimmigrantpopulationsacrosssectionalstudy
AT pajolabarbara tropherymawhippleihelicobacterpyloriandintestinalprotozoalcoinfectionsinitalianandimmigrantpopulationsacrosssectionalstudy
AT mazzicristina tropherymawhippleihelicobacterpyloriandintestinalprotozoalcoinfectionsinitalianandimmigrantpopulationsacrosssectionalstudy
AT piubellichiara tropherymawhippleihelicobacterpyloriandintestinalprotozoalcoinfectionsinitalianandimmigrantpopulationsacrosssectionalstudy
AT beltrameanna tropherymawhippleihelicobacterpyloriandintestinalprotozoalcoinfectionsinitalianandimmigrantpopulationsacrosssectionalstudy