Poster Presentation Australian Society for Microbiology Annual Scientific Meeting 2024

Safety and carriage of probiotics given during the first 10 days of life in infants of the Eastern Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea (#28)

Andrew R Greenhill 1 , Tilda Orami 2 , Rebecca Ford 2 , Joycelyn Sapura 2 , Birunu Nivio 2 , Ameilia Koata 2 , Mary Dreyam 2 , William Pomat 2 , Anita van den Biggelaar 3 4 , Peter Richmond 3 5
  1. Institute of Innovation, Science and Sustainability, Federation University Australia, Churchill, Vic, Australia
  2. Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research, Goroka, Papua New Guinea
  3. Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia
  4. Telethon Kids Institute, Perth, WA, Australia
  5. Vaccine Trials Group, Telethon Kids Institute, Perth, WA, Australia

Introduction: Probiotics are bacteria considered to have health benefits. In settings such as Papua New Guinea (PNG), where there is high mortality and morbidity in children under 5 years, probiotics could provide a simple solution for improving health outcomes in young children. Here we report preliminary findings of gut colonisation from a pilot study conducted in the PNG highlands, where children received one of two probiotic strains or placebo.

Methods: Healthy neonates (n = 244) less than 72 hours old were enrolled and randomized in a double-blinded fashion 1:1:1 to receive Lactobacillus plantarum, Bifidobacterium longum subspecies infantis, or placebo for 7 consecutive days.  Infants were subsequently followed up to 6 months of age.  Rectal swabs were collected at the day of enrolment, the last day of intervention administration (1 week), 2 weeks, and 1, 3, 4 and 6 months of age. DNA was extracted and intestinal colonisation of the administered probiotic strains was assessed by qPCR.

Results: Administration of probiotics was shown to be feasible, well tolerated and safe. Preliminary analyses of a subset of participants showed L. plantarum was detectable in 40% of L. plantarum recipients at 1 week, but became undetectable in all by 1 month of age. In contrast, 90% of B. infantis recipients were positive for B. infantis at 1 week and at 1 month of age, and approximately 80% were positive at 3 months of age. B. infantis was also detected in approximately 50% of L. plantarum recipients and just under 40% of placebo recipients at 1 week, increasing to almost 80% at 3 months. After 1 month of age, B. infantis colonisation rates were similar across all three treatment (B. infantis, L. plantarum and placebo groups).

Conclusion: Common and prolonged detection of B. infantis in all three groups suggests that B. infantis may be an endogenous coloniser of the gut in PNG infants. B. infantis colonises the infant gut more successfully than L. plantarum, and may be responsible for the low colonisation rates following administration of L. plantarum.