Natural acquisition of Helicobacter pylori infection in newborn rhesus macaques
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Published on: May 2, 2017
Jay V Solnick1, Kikuko Chang, Don R Canfield
1Department of Internal Medicine, California National Primate Research Center, University of California-Davis, California 95616, USA. jvsolnick@ucdavis.edu
Insights
Early childhood Helicobacter pylori infection is common, with 40% of infant primates infected by 12 weeks. Close contact with infected mothers facilitates transmission, suggesting earlier acquisition than previously thought.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Pediatrics
- Infectious Diseases
Background:
- Helicobacter pylori infection is typically acquired in childhood.
- Estimating the precise age of acquisition in young children is challenging due to the infeasibility of serial endoscopic biopsies.
- Nonhuman primates serve as a relevant model for studying H. pylori acquisition in socially housed infants.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the age of H. pylori acquisition in infant nonhuman primates.
- To identify potential transmission routes and risk factors for early H. pylori infection.
Main Methods:
- Culturing H. pylori from socially housed infant nonhuman primates.
- Monitoring infection prevalence over the first year of life.
- Comparing infection rates between newborns from infected and uninfected dams.
Main Results:
- By 12 weeks of age, 40% of infant primates were culture-positive for H. pylori.
- Prevalence increased to 90% by one year of age.
- Newborns from infected dams showed higher infection rates, especially around the peripartum period, indicating maternal-infant transmission.
Conclusions:
- Persistent H. pylori infection can be acquired at an earlier age than previously assumed, even in environments with good water supply.
- Close contact, particularly during the peripartum period, is a significant factor in early H. pylori transmission.
- Breastfeeding appears to offer minimal protection against H. pylori acquisition in this primate model.
Abstract:
Helicobacter pylori infection is usually acquired in childhood, but precise estimates of the age of acquisition are difficult to obtain in young children. Since serial endoscopic biopsies are not feasible in human infants, we examined acquisition of H. pylori infection that is known to occur in socially housed nonhuman primates. By 12 weeks of age, 8 of 20 newborns (40%) were culture positive for H. pylori, and prevalence reached 90% by 1 year of age. Newborns from infected dams were more commonly infected than those from uninfected dams, particularly during the peripartum period, suggesting that close contact during this time may facilitate transmission. Transient infection was uncommon and occurred only after the first positive culture. These results suggest that in a high-prevalence environment, persistent H. pylori infection may be acquired at an earlier age than was previously thought. Since clean, potable water was readily available, contamination of water supply is not essential for widespread infection at an early age in areas where hygiene is otherwise poor. Furthermore, breastfeeding seems to offer little protection, since newborn macaques breastfeed during the first year of life and typically are fully weaned only when another newborn arrives the following spring.
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