Helicobacter pullorum: A potential hurdle emerging pathogen for public health.

Emerging zoonotic pathogens gain more attention due to the adverse effects on human and animal's health and productivity. One of these zoonotic pathogens is Helicobacter pullorum (H. pullorum) which was firstly diagnosed in 1994. This bacterium is enterpathogenic in poultry and contaminates the carcasses meat during processing or improper handling. Human can get H. pullorum infection mainly through mishandling of contaminated carcasses or consumption of undercooked meat. Infection of H. pullorum in human is associated with gastroenteritis and hepatitis. Diagnosis of H. pullorum is very difficult as misdiagnosis with other enteric zoonotic pathogens like Campylobacter and other Helicobacter species is common. Unlike other types of Helicobacter, there are little information and few researches regarding prevalence, pathogenesis, diagnosis and control of H. pullorum infection either animals or human. Accordingly, this review article was prepared to give more details about H. pullorum sources of infection, pathogenicity, incidence in poultry and human as well as its treatment.

Comparative genomics of Helicobacter pullorum from different countries.

BACKGROUND: Helicobacter pullorum commonly colonized in the gastrointestinal tract of poultry and caused gastroenteritis. This bacterium could be transmitted to humans through contaminated food and caused colitis and hepatitis. Currently, the genetic characteristics of the H. pullorum were not recognized enough. In this study, the genomes of 23 H. pullorum strains from different counties were comparatively analyzed. Among them, H. pullorum 2013BJHL was the first isolated and reported in China. RESULTS: The genomes of the studied strains were estimated to vary from 1.55 to 2.03 Mb, with a GC content of ~ 34%. 4064 pan genes and 1267 core genes were obtained from the core-pan genome analysis using the Roary pipeline. Core genome SNPs (cg-SNPs) were obtained using Snippy4 software. Two groups were identified with the phylogenetic analysis based on the cg-SNPs. Some adhesion-related, immune regulation, motility-related, antiphagocytosis-related, toxin-related and quorum sensing related genes were identified as virulence factors. APH(3')-IIIa, APH(2'')-If, and AAC(6')-Ie-APH(2'')-Ia were identified as antibiotic resistance genes among the H. pullorum genomes. cat, SAT-4 and tetO genes were only identified in 2013BJHL, and tet(C) was identified in MIT98-5489. MIC determination revealed that the 2013BJHL showed acquired resistance to ciprofloxacin, nalidixic acid, tetracycline, gentamicin, streptomycin and erythromycin, only sensitive to ampicillin. The antibiotic resistance genetic determinants on the 2013BJHL genome correlate well with observed antimicrobial susceptibility patterns. Two types of VI secretion system (T6SS) were identified in 52.2% (12/23) the studied strains. CONCLUSION: In this study, we obtained the genetic characteristics of H. pullorum from different sources in the world. The comprehensive genetic characteristics of H. pullorum were first described. H. pullorum showed highly genetic diversity and two sub-types of T6SSs were first identified in H. pullorum. 2013BJHL was found to be multidrug resistant as it was resistant to at least three different antibiotic classes.

Is There a Correlation between Helicobacter Pylori and Enterohepatic Helicobacter Species and Gallstone Cholecystitis?

BACKGROUND Cholecystitis is a common surgical condition. Recently, several authors have reported that DNA of bile tolerant Helicobacter spp. has been found in the human bile colonizing the biliary tract. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between the presence of Helicobacter spp. and gallstone cholecystitis. METHODS In this case-control study, gallstones, bile, and gallbladder mucosa were collected from 25 patients without gallstone disease, 24 with acute cholecystitis, and 28 with chronic cholecystitis. The presence of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), Helicobacter bilis (H. bilis), Helicobacter hepaticus (H. hepaticus) , and Helicobacter pullorum (H. pullorum) were investigated by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using species-specific primers. RESULTS In this study, 77 subjects with acute and chronic cholecystitis and control groups with a mean age of 46.85 ± 14.53 years, including 58 (67.25%) women and 19 (32.75%) men were included. DNA of 10 Helicobacter spp. was detected in the bile of the patients with cholecystitis including eight H. pylori and two H. bilis. However, we could not detect H. hepaticus and H. pullorum DNA in the samples. Moreover, there was an association between H. pylori and acute cholecystitis (p = 0.048), which was found to be stronger in 31-40-year-olds group (p = 0.003). CONCLUSION We found an association between the presence of H. pylori DNA and acute gallstone cholecystitis. There is not statistically significant correlation between three enterohepatic Helicobacter spp. ( H. bilis, H. hepaticus , and H. pullorum) and cholelithiasis. Given the low sample size of the patients, more studies are required to clear the clinical role of Helicobacter spp. in the gallstone disease and cholecystitis.

Helicobacter pullorum: An Emerging Zoonotic Pathogen.

Helicobacter pullorum (H.pullorum) commonly colonizes the gastrointestinal tract of poultry causing gastroenteritis. The bacterium may be transmitted to humans through contaminated meat where it has been associated with colitis and hepatitis. Despite the high prevalence of H. pullorum observed in poultry, little is known about the mechanisms by which this bacterium establishes infection in host and its virulence determinants. In this article we aim to provide an overview of this emerging zoonotic pathogen; its general characteristics, hosts, prevalence, and transmission as well as its pathogenic potential. We also discuss possible control strategies and risk of disease emergence.