The gut microbiota of Strongyloides stercoralis-infected human subjects from Thailand

Human gastrointestinal helminthic infections have a direct and/or indirect effect on the composition of the host gut microbial flora. Here, we investigated the effect of infection with a soil-transmitted intestinal nematode, Strongyloides stercoralis, on the gut microbiota of the human host. Fecal samples were obtained from volunteers from two areas endemic for strongyloidiasis, Khon Kaen Province in northeastern Thailand and Nakhon Si Thammarat Province in southern Thailand. DNA sequences of the V3-V4 regions of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene were obtained from the fecal samples. We investigated whether composition of the microbiota in infected persons composition might vary across endemic regions.