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. 2020 Aug 28;9(9):2786.
doi: 10.3390/jcm9092786.

High Prevalence of Intestinal Pathogens in Indigenous in Colombia

Simone Kann  1 , Daniela Bruennert  2 , Jessica Hansen  1 , Gustavo Andrés Concha Mendoza  3 , José José Crespo Gonzalez  3 , Cielo Leonor Armenta Quintero  4 , Miriam Hanke  5 , Ralf Matthias Hagen  6 , Joy Backhaus  7 , Hagen Frickmann  5   8
Affiliations

High Prevalence of Intestinal Pathogens in Indigenous in Colombia

Simone Kann et al. J Clin Med. .

Abstract

Background: Intestinal infections remain a major public health burden in developing countries. Due to social, ecological, environmental, and cultural conditions, Indigenous peoples in Colombia are at particularly high risk.

Materials: 137 stool samples were analyzed by microscopy and real-time-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR), targeting protozoan parasites (Giardia intestinalis, Entamoeba histolytica, Cryptosporidium spp., and Cyclospora cayetanensis), bacteria (Campylobacter jejuni, Salmonella spp., Shigella ssp./enteroinvasive E. coli (EIEC), Yersinia spp., enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC), enteropathogenic E. coli ( EPEC), enterotoxin-producing E. coli (ETEC), enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC), and Tropheryma whipplei), and helminths (Necator americanus, Strongyloides stercoralis, Ascaris lumbricoides, Ancylostoma spp., Trichuris. trichiura, Taenia spp., Hymenolepis nana, Enterobius vermicularis, and Schistosoma spp.). Microscopy found additional cases of helminth infections.

Results: At least one pathogen was detected in 93% of the samples. The overall results revealed protozoa in 79%, helminths in 69%, and bacteria in 41%. G. intestinalis (48%), Necator/hookworm (27%), and EAEC (68%) were the most common in each group. Noteworthy, T. whipplei was positive in 7% and T. trichirua in 23% of the samples. A significant association of one infection promoting the other was determined for G. intestinalis and C. jejuni, helminth infections, and EIEC.

Conclusions: The results illustrate the high burden of gastrointestinal pathogens among Indigenous peoples compared to other developing countries. Countermeasures are urgently required.

Keywords: bacterial infections; gastrointestinal infection; helminthes; protozoa infections.

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Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Number of pathogens found per person (not stratified by age).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Number of infecting pathogens stratified by age in years.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Type of parasite per age group (n = type of parasite based on at least one positive detection).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Comparison of infections related to villages.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Weight-for-height (wfhz), weight-for-age (wfaz), height for age (hfaz) z-scores.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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