Strongyloides stercoralis Infestation in a Child: How a Nematode Can Affect Gut Microbiota

Background: Strongyloidiasis is a neglected tropical disease caused by the intestinal nematode Strongyloides stercoralis and characterized by gastrointestinal and pulmonary involvement. We report a pediatric case of strongyloidiasis to underline the response of the host microbiota to the perturbation induced by the nematode. Methods: We performed a 16S rRNA-metagenomic analysis of the gut microbiota of a 7-year-old female during and after S. stercolaris infection, investigating three time-point of stool samples' ecology: T-0- during parasite infection, T-1- a month after parasite infection, and T-2- two months after parasite infection. Targeted-metagenomics were used to investigate ecology and to predict the functional pathways of the gut microbiota. Results: an increase in the alpha-diversity indices in T-0-T-1 samples was observed compared to T-2 and healthy controls (CTRLs). Beta-diversity analysis showed a shift in the relative abundance of specific gut bacterial species from T-0 to T-2 samples. Moreover, the functional prediction of the targeted-metagenomics profiles suggested an enrichment of microbial glycan and carbohydrate metabolisms in the T-0 sample compared with CTRLs. Conclusions: The herein report reinforces the literature suggestion of a putative direct or immune-mediated ability of S. stercolaris to promote the increase in bacterial diversity.

Automated summary

This study investigated the gut microbiota of a pediatric case of strongyloidiasis, revealing an increase in microbial diversity during infection and one month post-infection, followed by a decrease two months post-infection. Functional prediction highlighted an enrichment of microbial glycan and carbohydrate metabolisms in the infected sample compared to healthy controls.