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Newsletter 06-06-97
Contents of this newsletter:
1. Nausea and Reflux
Disease (From Gregory FL)
2. Houseflies May Transmit Ulcer Bug
1. Nausea and Reflux Disease (From
Gregory FL) Top^
HealthNews newsletter May27,1997.
"Nausea and Reflux Disease Although heartburn is the classic symptom of
gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), chronic nausea can also signal the condition, a
study in the May 1 Annals of Internal Medicine reports. A small group of patients with
unrelenting nausea who didn't respond to standard antinausea treatments were later found
to have acid reflux. The patients improved after taking the acid blocker omeprazole
(Prilosec) or other drugs; one required surgery. Diet and lifestyle changes can often
improve GERD, as we noted in the May 6 HealthNews. In this study, however, researchers did
not say whether they discussed those alternatives with the patients. If you have any GERD
symptoms including nausea, it's certainly woth asking your doctor about non-drug
treatments such as avoiding smoking, overeating, nighttime eating, spicy foods, and
alcohol. "
2.
Houseflies May Transmit Ulcer Bug
Top^
WASHINGTON, May 29 /PRNewswire/ -- A staple
of summer, the common
housefly, may be a reservoir for Helicobacter pylori, the bacterium
responsible for some types of ulcers and associated with stomach cancer, say
researchers from St. Elizabeth's Medical Center of Boston in the June 1997
issue of the Journal of Clinical Microbiology. This study is the first report
of H. pylori colonization of houseflies.
"The mode of transmission of Helicobacter pylori is unknown," says Peter
Grubel, one of the authors of the study. "Since viable bacteria have been
shown to be excreted in feces from infected individuals and houseflies
habitually develop and feed on excrement, we hypothesized that flies ingest
and harbor H. pylori and in turn contaminate the human environment."
In the study the researchers exposed groups of adult houseflies to either
a culture of the bacteria or a sterile control plate. After exposure, flies
were removed from both the sample and the control group and tested at
intervals of six hours for the presence of the bacteria on their skin, in
their digestive tract, and in their excretions.
The researchers found the bacteria present on the skin of the exposed
flies for up to 12 hours. In addition, the exposed flies had bacteria in
their gut and their excretions for up to 30 hours after exposure. The control
group had no presence of the bacteria.
"We postulate that H. pylori is acquired from human excrement by the
housefly, which then, while crawling on human food, contaminates it," says Dr.
Grubel.
H. pylori is a bacterium that was first described in the early 1980s by a
group of Australian researchers who theorized its connection to ulcers. It is
the cause of most duodenal ulcers and an estimated 70-80 percent of gastric
ulcers. In the late 1980s researchers at Stanford University showed it was
associated with certain types of stomach cancer.
Helicobacter pylori has the unusual ability to live in the harsh acidic
environment of the stomach. In most people it causes no disease but in the
unlucky few it causes duodenal ulcer, gastric ulcer and gastric cancer.
The organism lives in the stomachs of most people in the world, although
in developed countries less than 50 percent are infected and most children are
Helicobacter free. In developing countries infection is almost universal
among adults with 50 percent becoming infected by five years of age. A key
factor in these differences may be the use of indoor plumbing in developed
countries, says
Dr. Grubel.
Houseflies frequently come into contact with human food and excrement and
have been reported to be involved in the dissemination of numerous diseases
including salmonella. Since they habitually produce and feed on excrement and
it is now known that they carry the bacterium, it is possible that they can
act as vectors in the transmission of H. pylori, says Dr. Grubel.
"Structurally the fly is well adapted for picking up pathogens," says Dr.
Grubel. "Its proboscis is provided with a profusion of fine hairs that
readily collect environmental detritus. Furthermore each of the six feet of
the fly is fitted with hairy structures and pads that secrete a sticky
material, thus adding to its pathogen transmission potential. It is therefore
not surprising that as many as six million bacteria have been found on the
exterior surface of a single feeding fly and more than 100 species of
pathogenic organisms have been isolated from the digestive tract of flies."
"The adult housefly can fly as far as 20 miles from its source and can
freely enter houses and areas where people congregate, as well as markets,
stores, and other places where human food is available. It just as freely
frequents human and animal excrement alike," he says.
Dr. Grubel warns that this research only proves that the housefly is
capable of carrying the bacterium, and that no definite proof exists that it
actually serves as a vector. Future research studies will focus on whether
infected flies can actually pass the infection on and determine if H. pylori
is present in flies in the wild.
If people still wish to take precautions, though, Dr. Grubel recommends
fly control measures, sanitation and plain common sense, like not leaving food
sitting out in the open where flies can get to it.
Dr. Grubel can be reached by phone at 617-789-2423 or by e-mail at
apgrubel@massmed.org.
The Journal of Clinical Microbiology is a publication of the American
Society for Microbiology (ASM). With over 40,000 members worldwide, the ASM is
the oldest and largest single biological membership organization in the world.
Press releases and further information on the Society can be accessed
through the World Wide Web at http://www.asmusa.org. If you would like to
receive future releases from the ASM by electronic mail please send a message
with your e-mail address to: jsliwa@asmusa.org.
CO: American Society for Microbiology
ST: District of Columbia
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