Molecular Diagnostics for Gastrointestinal Parasites and Impact on Intestinal Microbiota in Rural Argentinian Children

MEJIA, R.; CIMINO, R; DAMANIA, A; JEUN, R; BRYAN, P; VARGAS, P; JUAREZ, M; CAJAL, SP; NASSER, JR; KROLEWIECKI, A; BOTTAZZI, ME; HOTEZ, P; SLATKO, B

Filadelfia

Encuentro; 64th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine; 2015

American Society of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

Worldwide, there are over 2 billion people infected with gastrointestinal (GI) parasites. Depending on the species, theseparasites can disrupt intestinal bacterial flora affecting nutritional status. We implemented a multi-parallel quantitative realtimePCR (qPCR) and have begun NextGen sequencing analysis for microbiota and 8 common GI parasites including thehelminths, Ascaris lumbricoides (Al), Ancylostoma duodenale (Ad), Necator americanus (Na), Strongyloides stercoralis (Ss),Trichuris trichiura (Tt) and protozoa, Cryptosporidium parvum (Cp), Entamoeba histolytica (Eh) and Giardia lamblia (Gl).Stool samples were collected from 116 asymptomatic children (under 10 years old) from rural Argentina. qPCR and nextgeneration sequencing was performed on microbiota enriched stool sample DNA using shotgun sequencing.Among samples, qPCR identified the helminths Al (54.3%) and 37.4% for two hookworm species (Na and Ad). For Ss and Tt,63.6% and 0.8% were positive, respectively. For the protozoa, Gl (65.5%), Eh (1.7%), and Cp (0%). qPCR was also able todetect polyparasitism of 2 or more parasites in 70.6% of patients. For Gl samples, microbiome analysis data shows decreasein microbiota biodiversity in the parasite infected group compared to those non-infected, with a shift away from Firmicutestoward increased Bacteroidetes, with the degree of shift related to intensity of infection (qPCR data). The abundant bacteriawithin the Bacteroidetes were due to increased Prevotella, compared to the non-infected group with increased Ruminococcus(p < 0.05). Clustering between the groups was examined using PCoA ordination and Shannon alpha diversity (parasite group1.65; non-infected group 2.7, p = 0.033). This first use of multi-parallel qPCR and NextGen microbiota sequencing inArgentina, shows an association of GI parasite infections and decreased microbiome biodiversity in asymptomatic children.The results will enable refinement of treatment options on a public health scale, leading to better health outcomes in endemicsettings.