Genomic epidemiology of Campylobacter jejuni associated with asymptomatic pediatric infection in the Peruvian Amazon

PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2020 Aug 10;14(8):e0008533. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0008533. eCollection 2020 Aug.

Abstract

Campylobacter is the leading bacterial cause of gastroenteritis worldwide and its incidence is especially high in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). Disease epidemiology in LMICs is different compared to high income countries like the USA or in Europe. Children in LMICs commonly have repeated and chronic infections even in the absence of symptoms, which can lead to deficits in early childhood development. In this study, we sequenced and characterized C. jejuni (n = 62) from a longitudinal cohort study of children under the age of 5 with and without diarrheal symptoms, and contextualized them within a global C. jejuni genome collection. Epidemiological differences in disease presentation were reflected in the genomes, specifically by the absence of some of the most common global disease-causing lineages. As in many other countries, poultry-associated strains were likely a major source of human infection but almost half of local disease cases (15 of 31) were attributable to genotypes that are rare outside of Peru. Asymptomatic infection was not limited to a single (or few) human adapted lineages but resulted from phylogenetically divergent strains suggesting an important role for host factors in the cryptic epidemiology of campylobacteriosis in LMICs.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Asymptomatic Infections*
  • Campylobacter Infections / diagnosis
  • Campylobacter Infections / epidemiology*
  • Campylobacter Infections / microbiology*
  • Campylobacter Infections / physiopathology
  • Campylobacter jejuni / classification
  • Campylobacter jejuni / genetics*
  • Child, Preschool
  • Cohort Studies
  • Diarrhea / epidemiology
  • Genomics
  • Genotype
  • Host-Parasite Interactions
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Molecular Typing
  • Multilocus Sequence Typing
  • Peru / epidemiology
  • Phylogeny
  • Poultry / microbiology

Associated data

  • figshare/10.6084/m9.figshare.10352375