The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Factors affecting the adhesion of water-stressed Helicobacter pylori to plumbing materials

Factors affecting the adhesion of water-stressed Helicobacter pylori to plumbing materials
Factors affecting the adhesion of water-stressed Helicobacter pylori to plumbing materials
The most important route(s) of transmission for Helicobacter pylori among the human population has yet to be identified, but water and associated biofilms have been considered as potential environmental reservoirs in several studies. Although molecular techniques have identified H. pylori in water-associated biofilms, there is a lack of studies reporting what factors affect the attachment of the bacterium to plumbing materials. Therefore, the influence of shear stress, temperature, inoculation concentration, and different abiotic substrata on the total counts of attached H. pylori was evaluated using epifluorescence and scanning electron microscopy. Results were statistically significant for adhesion of the bacterium at different shear stress (p < .001), with higher numbers of attached H. pylori being obtained at the lowest flow velocities of the water. By contrast, temperature, inoculation concentration, and different substrata appeared to have no effect on attached bacteria (p > .05). The importance of shear stress in the attachment of the microorganism indicates water storage reservoirs or wells, where low shear forces are usually present, as more probable locations for the subsistence of H. pylori attached to the surfaces and consequently embedded in biofilms. This conclusion supports the findings observed by others where the ingestion of well water was correlated with an increased chance of developing an H. pylori infection.
1083-4389
p.485
Azevedo, N.F.
c90d7c41-e45a-404d-9472-9d0b411448e7
Pacheco, A.P.
58f03fb4-176d-40f7-bca7-458e60729e64
Pinto, A.R.
1bdc6c93-adea-4866-9af9-f869135495da
Keevil, C.W.
cb7de0a7-ce33-4cfa-af52-07f99e5650eb
Vieira, M.J.
b13909e0-b086-49fc-b589-3fb9d2a02577
Azevedo, N.F.
c90d7c41-e45a-404d-9472-9d0b411448e7
Pacheco, A.P.
58f03fb4-176d-40f7-bca7-458e60729e64
Pinto, A.R.
1bdc6c93-adea-4866-9af9-f869135495da
Keevil, C.W.
cb7de0a7-ce33-4cfa-af52-07f99e5650eb
Vieira, M.J.
b13909e0-b086-49fc-b589-3fb9d2a02577

Azevedo, N.F., Pacheco, A.P., Pinto, A.R., Keevil, C.W. and Vieira, M.J. (2005) Factors affecting the adhesion of water-stressed Helicobacter pylori to plumbing materials. Helicobacter, 10 (5), p.485. (doi:10.1111/j.1523-5378.2005.00342.x).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The most important route(s) of transmission for Helicobacter pylori among the human population has yet to be identified, but water and associated biofilms have been considered as potential environmental reservoirs in several studies. Although molecular techniques have identified H. pylori in water-associated biofilms, there is a lack of studies reporting what factors affect the attachment of the bacterium to plumbing materials. Therefore, the influence of shear stress, temperature, inoculation concentration, and different abiotic substrata on the total counts of attached H. pylori was evaluated using epifluorescence and scanning electron microscopy. Results were statistically significant for adhesion of the bacterium at different shear stress (p < .001), with higher numbers of attached H. pylori being obtained at the lowest flow velocities of the water. By contrast, temperature, inoculation concentration, and different substrata appeared to have no effect on attached bacteria (p > .05). The importance of shear stress in the attachment of the microorganism indicates water storage reservoirs or wells, where low shear forces are usually present, as more probable locations for the subsistence of H. pylori attached to the surfaces and consequently embedded in biofilms. This conclusion supports the findings observed by others where the ingestion of well water was correlated with an increased chance of developing an H. pylori infection.

This record has no associated files available for download.

More information

Published date: 16 September 2005
Additional Information: Abstract no: 04.13 (Abstracts of the XVIIIth International Workshop on Gastrointestinal Pathology and Helicobacter. European Helicobacter Study Group. Copenhagen, October 12-14, 2005)

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 56305
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/56305
ISSN: 1083-4389
PURE UUID: 756e158a-16e7-4997-96ab-cf0746a51fc7
ORCID for C.W. Keevil: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-1917-7706

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 01 Jun 2009
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 03:24

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: N.F. Azevedo
Author: A.P. Pacheco
Author: A.R. Pinto
Author: C.W. Keevil ORCID iD
Author: M.J. Vieira

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×