Santiago Paula, Moreno Yolanda, Ferrús M Antonía
Biotechnology Department, Polytechnic University of Valencia, 46022, Valencia, Spain.
Research Institute of Water and Environmental Ingeneering (IIAMA), Polytechnic University of Valencia, 46022, Valencia, Spain.
Helicobacter. 2015 Aug;20(4):252-9. doi: 10.1111/hel.12205. Epub 2015 Feb 4.
Helicobacter pylori is one of the most common causes of chronic bacterial infection in humans, directly related to peptic ulcer and gastric cancer. It has been suggested that H. pylori can be acquired through different transmission routes, including water. In this study, culture and qPCR were used to detect and identify the presence of H. pylori in drinking water. Furthermore, the combined techniques PMA-qPCR and DVC-FISH were applied for detection of viable cells of H. pylori.
Among 24 drinking water samples, 16 samples were positive for the presence of H. pylori, but viable cells were only detected in six samples. Characteristic colonies, covered by a mass of bacterial unspecific growth, were observed on selective agar plates from an only sample, after enrichment. The mixed culture was submitted to DVC-FISH and qPCR analysis, followed by sequencing of the amplicons. Molecular techniques confirmed the growth of H. pylori on the agar plate.
Our results demonstrate for the first time that H. pylori can survive and be potentially infective in drinking water, showing that water distribution systems could be a potential route for H. pylori transmission.
幽门螺杆菌是人类慢性细菌感染最常见的病因之一，与消化性溃疡和胃癌直接相关。有人提出幽门螺杆菌可通过包括水在内的不同传播途径获得。在本研究中，采用培养和定量聚合酶链反应（qPCR）检测和鉴定饮用水中幽门螺杆菌的存在。此外，还应用了叠氮溴化丙锭-定量聚合酶链反应（PMA-qPCR）和动态活细胞计数-荧光原位杂交（DVC-FISH）联合技术检测幽门螺杆菌的活细胞。
在24份饮用水样本中，16份样本幽门螺杆菌检测呈阳性，但仅在6份样本中检测到活细胞。富集后，仅在一个样本的选择性琼脂平板上观察到被大量细菌非特异性生长覆盖的特征性菌落。对混合培养物进行DVC-FISH和qPCR分析，随后对扩增子进行测序。分子技术证实了幽门螺杆菌在琼脂平板上的生长。
我们的结果首次证明幽门螺杆菌能够在饮用水中存活并具有潜在传染性，表明供水系统可能是幽门螺杆菌传播的一个潜在途径。
