Isolation of fusobacteria from the oral cavities of malnourished Nigerian children living in agricultural and herding villages

Abstract

A previous study demonstrated the presence and possible involvement of Fusobacterium necrophorum in the pathogenesis of noma lesions of children living in agricultural and herding villages in northwestern Nigeria. In order to determine if F. necrophorum was part of the oral flora of malnourished children with no noma lesions, a study of the fusobacteria present in the oral cavities of 30 children, 2-6 years of age in Sokoto State, was undertaken. Swabs taken of the oral cavity were cultured on selective fusobacteria medium using conventional anaerobic microbiological techniques. F. nucleatum was recovered from each child and F. necrophorum was isolated from the oral cavity of only one child. The presence of F. nucleatum and the lack of F. necrophorum, except in one case, suggests that the latter is not normal flora in the children at risk for noma. F. necrophorum, a putative trigger organism for noma may gain a foothold only when certain staging conditions (ie, lowered host resistance and/or oral lesion) are present. Oral Diseases (2000) 6, 103-105

Bacterial Diversity in Oral Samples of Children in Niger with Acute Noma, Acute Necrotizing Gingivitis, and Healthy Controls

“…Apart from P. intermedia , Falkler et al detected F. necrophorum , generally a livestock pathogen, in most noma patients [5], [6] in one study [9], but only in one of 30 healthy children in another study [9]. This finding led the authors to hypothesize that this microorganism could be responsible for the onset of noma.…”

“…are known to become established in human infant mouths at around the same time as tooth eruption [11]. In at least one study, F. necrophorum was not found in the normal microbiota in malnourished Nigerian children without noma [9], while it was identified by culture methods in affected children [5], [9]. It is found in the gut of herbivores and can persist in wet soil with a high manure content on land used by cattle and sheep [12].…”

NOMA: A Preventable “Scourge” of African Children

“…The primary reason for this obscurity is obvious: the epicenter of noma development, the oral cavity, is inhabited by several hundred species of normal commensal bacteria [48-51]. A long held notion is that noma is caused by spirochetes and fusobacteria [5, 6, 52]. This notion partly stems from an extrapolation of the microbiological culprits of the presumed noma antecedent, NUG, which also includes spirochetes and fusobacteria, and partly because the levels of these organisms appear to be elevated in noma.…”

Necrobacillosis in humans

“…It is possible that these children harbor a more virulent subtype of F. necrophorum or may even be infected with biotype A, more frequently seen among animals (cattle and sheep). The possibility of a zoonotic infection caused by a F. necrophorum subtype has been suggested [30]. Biotype A or F. necrophorum ss necrophorum is regarded as more virulent in animal models compared with biotype B or F. necrophorum ss funduliformis [31].…”