Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Sep 28:76:102841.
doi: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2024.102841. eCollection 2024 Oct.

The epidemiology and impact of persistent Campylobacter infections on childhood growth among children 0-24 months of age in resource-limited settings

Francesca Schiaffino  1   2 , Josh M Colston  2 , Maribel Paredes Olortegui  3 , Pablo Peñataro Yori  2   3 , Evangelos Mourkas  4 , Ben Pascoe  4   5 , Aldo A M Lima  6 , Carl J Mason  7 , Tahmeed Ahmed  8 , Gagandeep Kang  9 , Estomih Mduma  10 , Amidou Samie  11 , Anita Zaidi  12 , Jie Liu  2   13 , Kerry K Cooper  14 , Eric R Houpt  2 , Craig T Parker  15 , Gwenyth O Lee  16 , Margaret N Kosek  2   3
Affiliations

The epidemiology and impact of persistent Campylobacter infections on childhood growth among children 0-24 months of age in resource-limited settings

Francesca Schiaffino et al. EClinicalMedicine. .

Abstract

Background: Campylobacter is the leading cause of bacterial gastroenteritis worldwide. It is generally associated with an acute gastrointestinal infection causing a self-limiting diarrheal episode. However, there is evidence that persistent/recurrent carriage of Campylobacter also occurs. In hyperendemic settings the epidemiology and consequences of persistent Campylobacter enteric infections is poorly studied.

Methods: Risk factors for and growth consequences of persistent Campylobacter infections detected by polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) were evaluated with data from the MAL-ED birth cohort study in children 0-24 months of age between November 2009 and February 2012. A persistent Campylobacter infection was defined as three or more consecutive Campylobacter positive monthly stools.

Findings: Across all study sites, 45.5% (781/1715) of children experienced at least one persistent Campylobacter episode. The average cumulative duration of days in which children with persistent Campylobacter were positive for Campylobacter spp. was 150 days (inter-quartile range: 28-236 days). Children who experienced a persistent Campylobacter episode had an attained 24-month length-for-age (LAZ) score that was 0.23 (95% (CI): -0.31, -0.15) less than children without a persistent Campylobacter episode. Among children who had at least one episode of Campylobacter over a 3-month or 9-month window, persistent episodes were not significantly associated with poorer 3-month weight gain (-28.7 g, 95% CI: -63.4 g, 6.0 g) but were associated with poorer 9-month linear growth (-0.134 cm 95% CI: -0.246, -0.022) compared to children with an episode that resolved within 31 days.

Interpretation: Persistent/recurrent Campylobacter infection is common among children and has a measurable negative impact on linear growth in early childhood.

Funding: Funding for this study was provided by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (OPP1066146 and OPP1152146), the National Institutes of Health United States (R01AI158576 and R21AI163801 to MNK and CTP; K43TW012298 to FS; K01AI168493 to JMC; GOL was supported by K01AI145080. This research was also supported in part by USDA-ARS CRIS project 2030-42000-055-00D. The funders had no role in study design, study implementation, data analysis, or interpretation of the results.

Keywords: Campylobacteriosis; Carriage; MAL-ED; Persistent infections.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

AKZ is currently employed at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation as the President of Gender Equality. The Gates Foundation was the original funder of this project. They have not had a role in this analysis.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Growth Patterns in Children with and without Persistent Campylobacter Episodes. [A] Length for Age Z-score (LAZ) and [B] Weight for Age Z-score comparing children who had at least one persistent Campylobacter episode (1) to children who did not (0). [C] Length for Age Z-score (LAZ) and [D] Weight for Age Z-score comparing children who had multiple persistent Campylobacter episodes (1–2; 3–4) to children who did not (0), across all eight MAL-ED study sites. At birth children with and without persistent infection appear nearly identical, but differences in linear and ponderal growth led to progressive differences in age adjusted length and weight over the period of study. These differences are greater among children who experienced more than one persistent Campylobacter episode.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Marineli F., Tsoucalas G., Karamanou M., Androutsos G. Mary Mallon (1869-1938) and the history of typhoid fever. Ann Gastroenterol. 2013;26(2):132–134. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Gunn J.S., Marshall J.M., Baker S., Dongol S., Charles R.C., Ryan E.T. Salmonella chronic carriage: epidemiology, diagnosis, and gallbladder persistence. Trends Microbiol. 2014;22(11):648–655. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Normark S., Nilsson C., Normark B.H., Hornef M.W. Persistent infection with Helicobacter pylori and the development of gastric cancer. Adv Cancer Res. 2003;90:63–89. - PubMed
    1. McMurry T.L., McQuade E.T.R., Liu J., et al. Duration of postdiarrheal enteric pathogen carriage in young children in low-resource settings. Clin Infect Dis. 2021;72(11):e806–e814. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Warren J.R., Marshall B. Unidentified curved bacilli on gastric epithelium in active chronic gastritis. Lancet. 1983;1(8336):1273–1275. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources