Detection of Helicobacter pylori in drinking water treatment plants in Bogotá Colombia, using cultural and molecular techniques

Helicobacter pylori is one of the most common causes of chronic bacterial infection in humans, and a predisposing factor for peptic ulcer and gastric cancer. The infection has been consistently associated with lack of access to clean water and proper sanitation. H. pylori has been detected in surface water, wastewater and drinking water. However, its ability to survive in an infectious state in the environment is hindered because it rapidly loses its cultivability. The aim of this study was to determine the presence of cultivable and therefore viable H. pylori in influent and effluent water from drinking water treatment plants (DWTP). A total of 310 influent and effluent water samples were collected from three drinking water treatment plants located at Bogotá city, Colombia. Specific detection of H. pylori was achieved by culture, qPCR and FISH techniques. Fifty-six positive H. pylori cultures were obtained from the water samples. Characteristic colonies were covered by the growth of a large number of other bacteria present in the water samples, making isolation difficult to perform. Thus, the mixed cultures were submitted to Fluorescent in situ Hybridization (FISH) and qPCR analysis, followed by sequencing of the amplicons for confirmation. By qPCR, 77 water samples, both from the influent and the effluent, were positive for the presence of H. pylori. The results of our study demonstrate that viable H. pylori cells were present in both, influent and effluent water samples obtained from drinking water treatment plants in Bogotá and provide further evidence that contaminated water may act as a transmission vehicle for H. pylori. Moreover, FISH and qPCR methods result rapid and specific techniques to identify H. pylori from complex environmental samples such as influent water.