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

Pascoe B, Schiaffino F, Murray S, Méric G, Bayliss SC, Hitchings MD, Mourkas E, Calland JK, Burga R, Yori PP, Jolley KA, Cooper KK, Parker CT, Olortegui MP, Kosek MN, Sheppard SK

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 14 (8) e0008533 [2020-08-00; online 2020-08-10]

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.

PubMed 32776937

DOI 10.1371/journal.pntd.0008533

Crossref 10.1371/journal.pntd.0008533

pmc: PMC7440661
pii: PNTD-D-20-00656
figshare: 10.6084/m9.figshare.10352375