Quantitative Assessment of First Nations Drinking Water Distribution Systems for Detection and Prevalence of Thermophilic Campylobacter Species.

Water is considered a major route for transmitting human-associated pathogens. Although microbial water quality indicators are used to test for the presence of waterborne pathogens in drinking water, the two are poorly correlated. The current study investigates the prevalence of thermophilic DNA markers specific for Campylobacter spp. (C. jejuni and C. coli) in source water and throughout the water distribution systems of two First Nations communities in Manitoba, Canada. A total of 220 water samples were collected from various points of the drinking water distribution system (DWDS) between 2016 and 2018. Target Campylobacter spp. were always (100%) detected in a home with a fiberglass (CF) cistern, as well as the community standpipe (SP). The target bacteria were also frequently detected in treated water at the Water Treatment Plant (WTP) (78%), homes with polyethylene (CP) (60%) and concrete (CC) (58%) cisterns, homes with piped (P) water (43%) and water truck (T) samples (20%), with a maximum concentration of 1.9 × 103 cells 100 mL-1 (C. jejuni) and 5.6 × 105 cells 100 mL-1 (C. coli). Similarly, target bacteria were detected in 68% of the source water samples with a maximum concentration of 4.9 × 103 cells 100 mL-1 (C. jejuni) and 8.4 × 105 cells 100 mL-1 (C. coli). Neither target Campylobacter spp. was significantly associated with free and total chlorine concentrations in water. The study results indicate that there is an immediate need to monitor Campylobacter spp. in small communities of Canada and, particularly, to improve the DWDS in First Nations communities to minimize the risk of Campylobacter infection from drinking water sources. Further research is warranted in improving/developing processes and technologies to eliminate microbial contaminants from water.

Expression of osteopontin in patients with thyroid dysfunction.

Thyroid dysfunctions are common endocrine problems. They are often misdiagnosed, misunderstood, and frequently overlooked. These disorders affect almost every aspect of health. Most of them remain undetected because the clinical assessment alone lacks both sensitivity and specificity. As it is not sufficient enough we require the biochemical tests to confirm the diagnosis. As a consequence there is still great interest in new biomarkers that complement existing diagnostic tools. Osteopontin, a glycoprotein that can be detected in plasma, was found to be upregulated in several patients with hyperthyroidism and downregulated in hypothyroid patients so it may represent a new biomarker. 100 patients with thyroid dysfunctions (50 hyperthyroid, 50 hypothyroid) and 100 normal subjects were included in the study. Osteopontin and other clinical parameters for diagnosis of thyroid disorders were measured. Osteopontin is positively correlated with T3 and T4 (r = 0.62 and r = 0.75 respectively) while it is negatively correlated with thyroid stimulating hormone (r = -0.52) showing a significant correlation (p-value <0.001). Our findings suggest that osteopontin might be useful as a novel prognostic biomarker in patients with impaired thyroid function.