title: Human intestinal spirochaetosis in northern Japan.
abstract: A histological diagnosis of human intestinal spirochaetosis (HIS) was made in 114 patients during the period 1994-2007. All patients lived in three prefectures in the northern part of Honshu, Japan. Most patients were elderly and male. Twenty-nine patients complained of abdominal pain, bloody stools, diarrhoea or bowel symptoms, but most patients showed no direct symptoms of bowel disease, and occult faecal blood detected at medical check-up was the main reason for colonoscopic examination. There were no homosexual patients and no immunosuppressed patients. HIS was evenly distributed throughout the whole colorectum. PCR analysis of Brachyspira aalborgi and Brachyspira pilosicoli revealed that more patients were infected with B. aalborgi. Follow-up PCR studies confirmed that infestation with B. aalborgi could be repeatedly detected over a 6 year period. This study, involving over 100 patients, identified the characteristic features of HIS in northern Japan. The results suggest that these spirochaetes may be harmless commensals that cause no obvious pathological alterations in infected individuals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Iwate Prefectural Ninohe Hospital, Ninohe, Japan.
authors.forename: Hajime
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.affiliation: Diagnostic Pathology Research Co. Ltd, Morioka, Japan.
authors.forename: Shin-Ichi
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacodynamics and Molecular Genetics, School of Pharmacy, Iwate Medical University, Morioka, Japan.
authors.forename: Wataru
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Habano
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Iwate Medical University, Morioka, Japan.
authors.forename: Go
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wakabayashi
authors.affiliation: Animal Health Laboratory, School of Agriculture, Ibaraki University, Ibaraki, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshikazu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Adachi
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017400:Brachyspira / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005260:Female; D016905:Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D007410:Intestinal Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D055815:Young Adult