12 research outputs found
Gut Microbiota of Healthy and Malnourished Children in Bangladesh
Poor health and malnutrition in preschool children are longstanding problems in Bangladesh. Gut microbiota plays a tremendous role in nutrient absorption and determining the state of health. In this study, metagenomic tool was employed to assess the gut microbiota composition of healthy and malnourished children. DNA was extracted from fecal samples of seven healthy and seven malnourished children (n = 14; age 2–3 years) were analyzed for the variable region of 16S rRNA genes by universal primer PCR followed by high-throughput 454 parallel sequencing to identify the bacterial phyla and genera. Our results reveal that the healthy children had a significantly higher number of operational taxonomic unit in their gut than that of the malnourished children (healthy vs. malnourished: 546 vs. 310). In malnourished children, bacterial population of the phyla Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes accounted for 46 and 18%, respectively. Conversely, in healthy children, Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes accounted for 5% and 44, respectively (p < 0.001). In malnourished children, the phylum Proteobacteria included pathogenic genera, namely Klebsiella and Escherichia, which were 174-fold and 9-fold higher, respectively, than their healthy counterpart. The predominance of potentially pathogenic Proteobacteria and minimal level of Bacteroidetes as commensal microbiota might be associated to the ill health of malnourished children in Bangladesh
Safe distances between groundwater-based water wells and pit latrines at different hydrogeological conditions in the Ganges Atrai floodplains of Bangladesh.
BACKGROUND: Groundwater drawn from shallow tubewells in Bangladesh is often polluted by nearby pit latrines, which are commonly used toilets in rural and sub-urban areas of the country. METHODS: To determine the minimum safe distance of a tubewell from a pit latrine in different hydrogeological conditions of Bangladesh, 20 monitoring wells were installed at three study sites (Manda, Mohanpur and Bagmara) with the vertical and horizontal distances ranging from 18-47 to 2-15 m, respectively. Water samples were collected three times in three seasons and tested for faecal coliforms (FC) and faecal streptococci (FS) as indicators of contamination. Soil samples were analysed for texture, bulk density and hydraulic conductivity following standard procedures. Sediment samples were collected to prepare lithological logs. RESULTS: When the shallow aquifers at one of the three sites (Mohanpur) were overlained by 18-23-m-thick aquitards, the groundwater of the monitoring wells was found contaminated with a lateral and vertical distances of 2 and 31 m, respectively. However, where the aquitard was only 9 m thick, contamination was found up to lateral and vertical distances of 4.5 and 40.5 m, respectively. The soil textures of all the sites were mainly composed of loam and sandy loam. The hydraulic conductivities in the first aquifer at Manda, Mohanpur and Bagmara were 5.2-7.3, 8.2 and 1.4-15.7 m/h, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The results showed that the safe distance from the tubewell to the pit latrine varied from site to site depending on the horizontal and vertical distances of the tubewell as well as hydrogeological conditions of a particular area
Safe distances between groundwater-based water wells and pit latrines at different hydrogeological conditions in the Ganges Atrai floodplains of Bangladesh
Background: Groundwater drawn from shallow tubewells in Bangladesh is
often polluted by nearby pit latrines, which are commonly used toilets
in rural and sub-urban areas of the country. Methods: To determine the
minimum safe distance of a tubewell from a pit latrine in different
hydrogeological conditions of Bangladesh, 20 monitoring wells were
installed at three study sites (Manda, Mohanpur and Bagmara) with the
vertical and horizontal distances ranging from 18\u201347 to
2\u201315 m, respectively. Water samples were collected three times in
three seasons and tested for faecal coliforms (FC) and faecal
streptococci (FS) as indicators of contamination. Soil samples were
analysed for texture, bulk density and hydraulic conductivity following
standard procedures. Sediment samples were collected to prepare
lithological logs. Results: When the shallow aquifers at one of the
three sites (Mohanpur) were overlained by 18\u201323-m-thick
aquitards, the groundwater of the monitoring wells was found
contaminated with a lateral and vertical distances of 2 and 31 m,
respectively. However, where the aquitard was only 9 m thick,
contamination was found up to lateral and vertical distances of 4.5 and
40.5 m, respectively. The soil textures of all the sites were mainly
composed of loam and sandy loam. The hydraulic conductivities in the
first aquifer at Manda, Mohanpur and Bagmara were 5.2\u20137.3, 8.2
and 1.4\u201315.7 m/h, respectively. Conclusions: The results showed
that the safe distance from the tubewell to the pit latrine varied from
site to site depending on the horizontal and vertical distances of the
tubewell as well as hydrogeological conditions of a particular area
Host factors determine anti-GM1 response following oral challenge of chickens with Guillain-Barré syndrome derived Campylobacter jejuni strain GB11
BACKGROUND: Anti-ganglioside antibodies with a pathogenic potential are present in C. jejuni-associated Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) patients and are probably induced by molecular mimicry. Immunization studies in rabbits and mice have demonstrated that these anti-ganglioside antibodies can be induced using purified lipo-oligosaccharides (LOS) from C. jejuni in a strong adjuvant. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To investigate whether natural colonization of chickens with a ganglioside-mimicking C. jejuni strain induces an anti-ganglioside response, and to investigate the diversity in anti-ganglioside response between and within genetically different chicken lines, we orally challenged chickens with different C. jejuni strains. Oral challenge of chickens with a C. jejuni strain from a GBS patient, containing a LOS that mimics ganglioside GM1, induced specific IgM and IgG anti-LOS and anti-GM1 antibodies. Inoculation of chickens with the Penner HS:3 serostrain, without a GM1-like structure, induced anti-LOS but no anti-ganglioside antibodies. We observed different patterns of anti-LOS/ganglioside response between and within the five strains of chickens. CONCLUSIONS: Natural infection of chickens with C. jejuni induces anti-ganglioside antibodies. The production of antibodies is governed by both microbial and host factors
Kinetics of IgG antibody responses against <i>C. jejuni</i> antigens.
<p>IgG reactivity against <i>C. jejuni</i> GB11 protein, lipo-oligosaccharide (LOS) and ganglioside GM1 in five groups of chickens inoculated with <i>C. jejuni</i> GB11. Serum was collected at days 0, 8, 16, 21 and 27 post-infection. Each line represents one chicken. Serum was not available for all time points for all chickens.</p