Campylobacter jejuni is a leading cause of bacterial diarrhea worldwide and is associated with high rates of mortality and growth stunting in children inhabiting low- to middle-resource countries. To better understand the impact of breastfeeding on Campylobacter infection in infants in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, we examined fecal microbial compositions, bacterial isolates, and their carbohydrate metabolic pathways in Campylobacter-positive infants <1 year of age from the Global Enterics Multicenter Study. Exclusively breastfed infants with diarrhea exhibited high Campylobacter abundances, and this negatively correlated with bacterial carbohydrate metabolism. Although C. jejuni and Campylobacter coli are prevalent among these infants, the second most abundant Campylobacter species was a new species, which we named "Candidatus Campylobacter infans." Asymptomatic Campylobacter carriers also possess significantly different proportions of specific gut microbes compared to diarrheal cases. These findings provide insight into Campylobacter infections in infants in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia and help inform strategies aimed at eliminating campylobacteriosis in these areas.IMPORTANCE Campylobacter is the primary cause of bacterial diarrhea in the United States and can lead to the development of the postinfectious autoimmune neuropathy known as Guillain-Barré syndrome. Also, drug-resistant campylobacters are becoming a serious concern both locally and abroad. In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), infection with Campylobacter is linked to high rates of morbidity, growth stunting, and mortality in children, and breastfeeding is important for infant nutrition, development, and protection against infectious diseases. In this study, we examined the relationship between breastfeeding and Campylobacter infection and demonstrate the increased selection for C. jejuni and C. coli strains unable to metabolize fucose. We also identify a new Campylobacter species coinfecting these infants with a high prevalence in five of the seven countries in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia examined. These findings indicate that more detailed studies are needed in LMICs to understand the Campylobacter infection process in order to devise a strategy for eliminating this pathogenic microbe.

中文翻译：

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全球肠溶多中心研究中母乳喂养婴儿中弯曲杆菌的丰度和新物种的鉴定。

空肠弯曲菌是全世界细菌性腹泻的主要原因，与中低资源国家儿童的高死亡率和生长迟缓有关。为了更好地了解母乳喂养对撒哈拉以南非洲和南亚婴儿弯曲杆菌感染的影响，我们检查了来自全球肠道多中心的 1 岁以下弯曲杆菌阳性婴儿的粪便微生物成分、细菌分离物及其碳水化合物代谢途径学习。纯母乳喂养的腹泻婴儿表现出较高的弯曲杆菌丰度，这与细菌碳水化合物代谢呈负相关。尽管空肠弯曲菌和大肠杆菌在这些婴儿中普遍存在，但第二丰富的弯曲杆菌物种是一个新物种，我们将其命名为“Candidatus Campylobacter infans”。与腹泻病例相比，无症状弯曲杆菌携带者的特定肠道微生物比例也显着不同。这些发现提供了对撒哈拉以南非洲和南亚婴儿弯曲杆菌感染的深入了解，并有助于为消除这些地区弯曲杆菌病的策略提供信息。 重要性 弯曲杆菌是美国细菌性腹泻的主要原因，可导致腹泻的发展感染后自身免疫性神经病，称为吉兰-巴利综合征。此外，耐药弯曲杆菌正在成为国内外的一个严重问题。在低收入和中等收入国家 (LMIC)，弯曲杆菌感染与儿童高发病率、生长迟缓和死亡率有关，母乳喂养对于婴儿营养、发育和预防传染病非常重要。在这项研究中，我们研究了母乳喂养和弯曲杆菌感染之间的关系，并证明了对无法代谢岩藻糖的空肠弯曲菌和大肠杆菌菌株的选择增加。我们还发现了一种新的弯曲杆菌菌种，该菌种可同时感染这些婴儿，在所检查的撒哈拉以南非洲和南亚的七个国家中，有五个国家的患病率很高。这些发现表明，中低收入国家需要更详细的研究来了解弯曲杆菌感染过程，以便制定消除这种病原微生物的策略。