Abstract
Objective Diarrhea in infants is a serious gastrointestinal dysfunction characterized by vomiting and watery bowel movements. Without proper treatment, infants will develop a dangerous electrolyte imbalance. Diarrhea is accompanied by intestinal dysbiosis. This study compared the gut microbiota between healthy infants and diarrheic infants. It also investigated the effects of age and pathogen type on the gut microbiota of infants with diarrhea, providing data for the proper treatment for diarrhea in infants. Materials and Methods DNA was collected from the fecal samples of 42 Chinese infants with diarrhea and 37 healthy infants. The healthy infants and infants with diarrhea were divided into four age groups: 0–120, 120–180, 180–270, and 270–365 days. Using PCR and 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing, the diarrhea-causing pathogens in these infants were identified and then categorized into four groups: Salmonella infection, Staphylococcus aureus infection, combined Salmonella and Staphylococcus aureus infection, and others (neither Salmonella nor Staphylococcus aureus). Results The species diversity of gut microbiota in diarrheic infants was significantly reduced compared with that in healthy infants. Infants with diarrhea had a lower abundance of Lactobacillus spp. and Bacillus spp. (P < 0.001) and a significant richness of Klebsiella spp. and Enterobacter spp. (P < 0.001). Similar gut microbiota patterns were found in diarrheic infants in all four age groups. However, different pathogenic infections have significant effects on the gut microbiota of diarrheic infants. For instance, the relative abundance of Klebsiella spp. and Streptococcus spp. was significantly increased (P < 0.001) in infants infected with Staphylococcus aureus; meanwhile, the richness of bacteria such as Enterobacter spp. was significantly increased in the Salmonella infection group (P < 0.001). Conclusion The microbiota in infants with diarrhea has changed significantly, characterized by decreased species diversity and abundance of beneficial bacteria and significant increase in the proportion of conditional pathogens. Meanwhile, the gut microbiota of infants with diarrhea at different ages was similar, but different pathogenic infections affect the gut microbiota characteristics. Therefore, early identification of changes in gut microbiota in infants with diarrhea and the adoption of appropriate pathogen type-specific interventions may effectively alleviate the disease and reduce adverse reactions.
Highlights
As a serious gastrointestinal dysfunction, infant diarrhea has become a global public health problem
Cohorts of Patients and Healthy Infants. e basic clinical information of 37 healthy infants and 42 diarrheic infants was collected, including gender, age, and number of samples in each category. 61.9% of infants with diarrhea have skin problems, such as pruritus and rash (Table 1). e healthy infants and infants with diarrhea were divided into four groups by age: 0–120, 120–180, 180–270, and 270–365 days
We investigated the characteristics of the gut microbiota of infants in the four age groups. e alpha diversity indexes showed that, in healthy infants, the diversity of gut microbiota of 120–180-day-old infants was significantly lower than that of 0–120-day-old infants (P < 0.01)
Summary
Diarrhea in infants is a serious gastrointestinal dysfunction characterized by vomiting and watery bowel movements. Is study compared the gut microbiota between healthy infants and diarrheic infants. It investigated the effects of age and pathogen type on the gut microbiota of infants with diarrhea, providing data for the proper treatment for diarrhea in infants. E species diversity of gut microbiota in diarrheic infants was significantly reduced compared with that in healthy infants. Similar gut microbiota patterns were found in diarrheic infants in all four age groups. Different pathogenic infections have significant effects on the gut microbiota of diarrheic infants. E microbiota in infants with diarrhea has changed significantly, characterized by decreased species diversity and abundance of beneficial bacteria and significant increase in the proportion of conditional pathogens. The gut microbiota of infants with diarrhea at different ages was similar, but different pathogenic infections affect the gut microbiota characteristics. erefore, early identification of changes in gut microbiota in infants with diarrhea and the adoption of appropriate pathogen type-specific interventions may effectively alleviate the disease and reduce adverse reactions
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: The Canadian journal of infectious diseases & medical microbiology = Journal canadien des maladies infectieuses et de la microbiologie medicale
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
