Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gxg78 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-22T14:56:22.214Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The colonization resistance of the digestive tract in different animal species and in man; a comparative study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 May 2009

D. Van Der Waaij  and
B. D. Van Der Waaij
D. Van Der Waaij
Affiliation:
Laboratory for Medical Microbiology, University of Groningen, Oostersingel 59, 9713 EZ, Groningen, The Netherlands
B. D. Van Der Waaij
Affiliation:
Laboratory for Medical Microbiology, University of Groningen, Oostersingel 59, 9713 EZ, Groningen, The Netherlands
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The present study has attempted to determine the colonization resistance (CR) of the digestive tract by biotyping Enterobacteriaceae in four faecal samples per subject of five different animal species as well as man. The results indicate that the degree of bacterial contamination with Enterobacteriaceae from the environment may strongly influence the outcome. Both conventionally living chicken and man, showed a much wider range of the ‘confidence limits of the mean’ of the mean number of biotypes per faecal sample between individual subjects, than was found between subjects maintained under laboratory circumstances. Yet there appeared a statistically significant difference in CR between some of the animal species as a group. Man did not differ from monkeys, however, both differed from the rodents species studied. Monkeys differed also from dogs and the latter from rodents. It is concluded that the CR measured by determining the mean number of biotypes of Enterobacteriaceae can only be used for accurate comparison of the CR between subjects, if the ‘bacteriological environment’ is known; i.e. the sources of contamination.

Type
Research Article
Information
Epidemiology & Infection , Volume 105 , Issue 2 , October 1990 , pp. 237 - 243
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1990

References

REFERENCES

1.Van der Waaij, D. The ecology of the human intestine and its consequences for overgrowth by pathogens such as Clostridium difficile. Ann Rev Microbiol 1989; 43: 69–87.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
2.Van der Waaij, D. Bioregulation of the digestive tract flora. Rev Sci Tech Off Int Epiz 1989; 8: 333–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
3.Van der Waaij, D. Evidence of immunoregulation of the composition of intestinal microflora and its practical consequences. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 1988; 7: 103–6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
4.Van der Waaij, D, Berghuis, JM. Determination of the colonization resistance of the digestive tract of individual mice. J Hyg 1974; 72: 379–87.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
5.Van der Waaij, D, Tielemans-Speltie, TM, De Roeck-Houben, AHJ. Infection by and distribution of biotypes of Enterobacteriaceae species in leukemic patients treated under ward conditions and in units for protective isolation in seven hospitals in Europe. Infection 1977; 5: 188–94.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6.Apperloo-Renkema, HZ, Van der Waaij, BD, Van der Waaij, D. Determination of colonization resistance of the digestive tract by biotyping of Enterobacteriaceae. Epidemiol Infect. In press.Google Scholar
7.Wardlaw, AC. Practical statistics for experimental biologists. Chichester: John Wiley and Sons. 1985.Google Scholar
8.Ojeniyi, AA. Direct transmission of Escherichia coli from poultry to humans. Epidemiol Infect 1989; 103: 513–22.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
9.Van der Waaij, D, Cohen, BJ, Nace, GW. Colonization patterns of aerobic gram-negative bacteria in the cloaca of Rana pipiens. Lab Animals Science 1974; 24: 307–16.Google ScholarPubMed
10.Van der Waaij, D. The digestive tract in immunocompromised patients: importance of maintaining its resistance to colonization, especially in hospital inpatients. In: Sabath, LD, ed. Action of antibiotics. Bern: Hans Huber, 1982: 104–18.Google Scholar