Intestinal Spirochaetosis-A case series from the developing world

Abstract

Spirochaetes comprise a heterogenous group of gram negative, motile, spiral shaped bacteria. Some of these pathogens are known to cause numerous human diseases such as Lyme disease, relapsing fever, syphilis and leptospirosis. However, intestinal spirochetosis is a rare condition. Patients frequently present with long-term complaints of loose stools, abdominal pain and weight loss and rectal bleeding. Hence to establish a diagnosis an endoscopy with biopsy is required. In this article, we describe four such cases, having different ages and socio- economic background, successfully treated with a short course of metronidazole.

Unusual Behavior of Intestinal Spirochetosis: A Case Report

“…[2] The endoscopic appearance of HIS needs to be differentiated from that of inflammatory bowel disease [3] because it can rapidly become fatal. [4–10]…”

“…[2] The endoscopic appearance of HIS needs to be differentiated from that of inflammatory bowel disease [3] because it can rapidly become fatal. [4][5][6][7][8][9][10] In patients with gastrointestinal symptoms associated with intestinal spirochetosis, we used histological samples to observe the invasion of spirochetes into the epithelial layer up to the lamina propria. When this infection is asymptomatic, the localization of the spirochetes is usually on the surface of the epithelium.…”