Detection of Helicobacter pylori DNA in drinking water biofilms: implications for transmission in early life

• Published in: Letters in applied microbiology Vol. 34; no. 6; pp. 450 - 454
• Main Authors: Bunn, J.E.G., MacKay, W.G., Thomas, J.E., Reid, D.C., Weaver, L.T.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford UK Blackwell Science Ltd 01-01-2002; Blackwell Science
• Subjects: Age; Air. Soil. Water. Waste. Feeding; Bacteriology; Base Sequence; Biofilms; Biological and medical sciences; Disease Transmission, Infectious; DNA, Bacterial - analysis; Environment. Living conditions; Epidemiology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gambia; Helicobacter Infections - microbiology; Helicobacter Infections - transmission; Helicobacter pylori; Helicobacter pylori - genetics; Helicobacter pylori - isolation & purification; Medical sciences; Microbiology; Molecular Sequence Data; Public health. Hygiene; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; Water Microbiology; Human; Drinking water; Spirillales; Spirillaceae; Infant; Epidemiology; Helicobacter pylori; Pathogenic; Water quality; Biofilm; Bacteria; Digestive tract; Colonization
• ISSN: 0266-8254; 1472-765X; 1365-2673
• DOI: 10.1046/j.1472-765X.2002.01122.x

Aims: To provide evidence of water quality as a risk factor for acquisition of Helicobacter pylori in early life, and to identify evidence for its presence within pots used to store drinking water.
Methods and Results: A prospective cohort study of 65 infants was conducted in the rural village of Keneba, The Gambia. Age of H. pylori colonization was determined and water pot biofilms were tested for H. pylori by sequencing of amplified DNA. Use of supplemental water was a strong risk factor for H. pylori colonization in infants (OR 4·71, 95% CI 1·17–22·5). DNA with 95% homology to the 16S rRNA gene of H. pylori was isolated from biofilms of water pots.
Conclusions: Drinking water may be a reservoir for H. pylori in areas of the developing world where water quality is poor. Early introduction of water, particularly if stored in, or collected from contaminated sources, may be associated with an increased rate of H. pylori colonization.