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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...
Autores principales: | , , , , , , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
MDPI
2022
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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 |
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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 |
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