title: Bacterial diversity in oral samples of children in niger with acute noma, acute necrotizing gingivitis, and healthy controls.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Noma is a gangrenous disease that leads to severe disfigurement of the face with high morbidity and mortality, but its etiology remains unknown. Young children in developing countries are almost exclusively affected. The purpose of the study was to record and compare bacterial diversity in oral samples from children with or without acute noma or acute necrotizing gingivitis from a defined geographical region in Niger by culture-independent molecular methods.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Gingival samples from 23 healthy children, nine children with acute necrotizing gingivitis, and 23 children with acute noma (both healthy and diseased oral sites) were amplified using "universal" PCR primers for the 16 S rRNA gene and pooled according to category (noma, healthy, or acute necrotizing gingivitis), gender, and site status (diseased or control site). Seven libraries were generated. A total of 1237 partial 16 S rRNA sequences representing 339 bacterial species or phylotypes at a 98-99% identity level were obtained. Analysis of bacterial composition and frequency showed that diseased (noma or acute necrotizing gingivitis) and healthy site bacterial communities are composed of similar bacteria, but differ in the prevalence of a limited group of phylotypes. Large increases in counts of Prevotella intermedia and members of the Peptostreptococcus genus are associated with disease. In contrast, no clear-cut differences were found between noma and non-noma libraries.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Similarities between acute necrotizing gingivitis and noma samples support the hypothesis that the disease could evolve from acute necrotizing gingivitis in certain children for reasons still to be elucidated. This study revealed oral microbiological patterns associated with noma and acute necrotizing gingivitis, but no evidence was found for a specific infection-triggering agent.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Angewandte Immunologie, Zuchwil, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Ignacio
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Bolivar
authors.forename: Katrine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Whiteson
authors.forename: Benoît
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Stadelmann
authors.forename: Denise
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Baratti-Mayer
authors.forename: Yann
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gizard
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mombelli
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pittet
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schrenzel
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics*; D058448:Biota; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D005891:Gingivitis / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009055:Mouth / Q000382:microbiology*; D009548:Niger; D009625:Noma / Q000382:microbiology*; D010802:Phylogeny; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S