Stark P L, Lee A, Parsonage B D
Infect Immun. 1982 Mar;35(3):895-9. doi: 10.1128/iai.35.3.895-899.1982.
Colonization of the large bowel of healthy infants by Clostridium difficile was studied. Feces were collected from five breast-fed aand five formula-fed infants throughout the first year of life, and levels of C. difficile were quantitated. Three breast-fed and five formula-fed infants were colonized for periods of between 8 and 42 weeks, and another infant harbored the organism only during week 1. Colonization of breast-fed infants commenced before or during weaning, with levels reaching 10(3) to 10(5) organisms per g of wet feces. Colonization of formula-fed infants commenced before solid foods were given, with levels of 10(3) to 10(7) organisms per g of wet feces. Isolates from eight of the babies were shown to produce cytotoxin in vitro. Single fecal specimens from 60 more children aged up to 4 years were also examined, and it was found that the carriage rate of C. difficile fell sharply after 1 year of age, although in the second year it was still higher than in adults. These findings are discussed in relation to the microbial ecology of the large bowel and the paradox that levels of C. difficile in the large bowel of healthy infants are similar to those causing pseudomembranous colitis in patients.
对健康婴儿大肠中艰难梭菌的定植情况进行了研究。在婴儿出生后的第一年，从5名母乳喂养婴儿和5名配方奶喂养婴儿中采集粪便，并对艰难梭菌的水平进行定量分析。3名母乳喂养婴儿和5名配方奶喂养婴儿在8至42周的时间内被艰难梭菌定植，另有1名婴儿仅在第1周携带该菌。母乳喂养婴儿的定植始于断奶前或断奶期间，每克湿粪便中的菌量达到10³至10⁵个。配方奶喂养婴儿的定植始于添加固体食物之前，每克湿粪便中的菌量为10³至10⁷个。从8名婴儿分离出的菌株在体外显示能产生细胞毒素。还对另外60名4岁以下儿童的单次粪便标本进行了检查，发现艰难梭菌的携带率在1岁后急剧下降，不过在第二年仍高于成年人。结合大肠的微生物生态学以及健康婴儿大肠中艰难梭菌水平与导致患者伪膜性结肠炎的水平相似这一矛盾现象，对这些发现进行了讨论。
