Fecal–oral route
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The fecal–oral route (or alternatively the oral–fecal route or orofecal route) is a route of transmission of a disease, when pathogens in fecal particles pass from one host and introduced into the oral cavity of another host.
There are usually intermediate steps, sometimes multiple steps, among the more common ones being:
- water that has come in contact with feces and is then inadequately treated before drinking;
- food that has been handled with feces present;
- poor sewage treatment along with disease vectors like houseflies;
- poor or absent cleaning after handling feces or anything that has been in contact with it;
- sexual practices that may involve oral contact with feces, such as anilingus.
- sexual fetishes that involve feces, known collectively as coprophilia (eating feces is known as coprophagia)
Some of the diseases that can be passed via the fecal-oral route include:
- Giardiasis[1]
- Hepatitis A[2]
- Hepatitis E[3]
- Rotavirus
- Shigellosis (bacillary dysentery)[4]
- Typhoid fever[5]
- Vibrio parahaemolyticus infections[6]
- Enteroviruses, including poliomyelitis
- Cholera
- Clostridium difficile
- Cryptosporidiosis
- Ascariasis
Transmission of Helicobacter pylori by oral-fecal route has been demonstrated in murine models.[7]
[edit] References
- ^ Meyer EA (1996). Other Intestinal Protozoa and Trichomonas Vaginalis in: Baron's Medical Microbiology (Baron S et al., eds.) (4th ed.). Univ of Texas Medical Branch. (via NCBI Bookshelf) ISBN 0-9631172-1-1.
- ^ Zuckerman AJ (1996). Hepatitis Viruses in: Baron's Medical Microbiology (Baron S et al., eds.) (4th ed.). Univ of Texas Medical Branch. (via NCBI Bookshelf) ISBN 0-9631172-1-1.
- ^ Wang L, Zhuang H (2004). "Hepatitis E: an overview and recent advances in vaccine research". World J Gastroenterol 10 (15): 2157–62. PMID 15259057.
- ^ Hale TL, Keusch GT (1996). Shigella in: Baron's Medical Microbiology (Baron S et al., eds.) (4th ed.). Univ of Texas Medical Branch. (via NCBI Bookshelf) ISBN 0-9631172-1-1.
- ^ Giannella RA (1996). Salmonella:Epidemiology in: Baron's Medical Microbiology (Baron S et al., eds.) (4th ed.). Univ of Texas Medical Branch. (via NCBI Bookshelf) ISBN 0-9631172-1-1.
- ^ Finkelstein RA (1996). Cholera, Vibrio cholerae O1 and O139, and Other Pathogenic Vibrios in: Baron's Medical Microbiology (Baron S et al., eds.) (4th ed.). Univ of Texas Medical Branch. (via NCBI Bookshelf) ISBN 0-9631172-1-1.
- ^ Cellini et al. (1998). "Evidence for an oral-faecal transmission of Helicobacter pylori infection in an experimental murine model". APMIS 107(1–6): 477–484.
