TY - JOUR AU - George, Christine Marie AU - Birindwa, Alves AU - Li, Shan AU - Williams, Camille AU - Kuhl, Jennifer AU - Thomas, Elizabeth AU - François, Ruthly AU - Presence, Amani Sanvura AU - Claude, Bisimwa Rusanga Jean AU - Mirindi, Patrick AU - Bisimwa, Lucien AU - Perin, Jamie AU - Stine, O. Colin T1 - Akkermansia muciniphila Associated with Improved Linear Growth among Young Children, Democratic Republic of the Congo T2 - Emerging Infectious Disease journal PY - 2023 VL - 29 IS - 1 SP - 81 SN - 1080-6059 AB - To investigate the association between enteric pathogens, fecal microbes, and child growth, we conducted a prospective cohort study of 236 children <5 years of age in rural eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. We analyzed baseline fecal specimens by quantitative PCR and measured child height and weight at baseline and growth at a 6-month follow-up. At baseline, 66% (156/236) of children had >3 pathogens in their feces. We observed larger increases in height-for-age-z-scores from baseline to the 6-month follow-up among children with Akkermansia muciniphila in their feces (coefficient 0.02 [95% CI 0.0001–0.04]; p = 0.04). Children with Cryptosporidium in their feces had larger declines in weight-for-height/length z-scores from baseline to the 6-month follow-up (coefficient –0.03 [95% CI –0.05 to –0.005]; p = 0.02). Our study showed high prevalence of enteric pathogens among this pediatric cohort and suggests A. muciniphila can potentially serve as a probiotic to improve child growth. KW - Akkermansia muciniphila KW - diarrhea KW - anthropometrics KW - child growth KW - prospective cohort studies KW - bacteria KW - enteric infections KW - commensal microbes KW - pathogenic microbes KW - Democratic Republic of the Congo KW - DRC DO - 10.3201/eid2901.212118 UR - https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/29/1/21-2118_article ER - End of Reference