Ruane P J, Nakata M M, Reinhardt J F, George W L
Wadsworth Division, West Los Angeles Veterans Administration Medical Center, California 90073.
Rev Infect Dis. 1989 Mar-Apr;11(2):184-96. doi: 10.1093/clinids/11.2.184.
Spirochete-like organisms were first detected in human feces in 1884. In the century since that observation an appreciable amount of epidemiologic and morphologic information has been published; nevertheless, it is not known how many species of cultivable human intestinal spirochetes exist, nor is the role of these organisms in health and disease known. Recent advances in microbiologic techniques, coupled with the recognition that the rate of carriage of such spirochetes in certain populations is approximately 30%-40%, should provide the impetus for careful scientific study of these organisms and of their importance-if any-to human health.
1884年，人们首次在人类粪便中检测到螺旋体样微生物。自那次观察以来的一个世纪里，已经发表了大量的流行病学和形态学信息；然而，尚不清楚可培养的人类肠道螺旋体有多少种，也不清楚这些微生物在健康和疾病中的作用。微生物技术的最新进展，再加上认识到在某些人群中此类螺旋体的携带率约为30%-40%，应该会推动对这些微生物及其对人类健康的重要性（如果有的话）进行认真的科学研究。
