Sulfate-reducing bacteria in human feces and their association with inflammatory bowel diseases.

We have searched for sulfate-reducing bacteria in the feces of 41 healthy individuals and 110 patients from a Hepato-Gastro-Enterology Unit using a specific liquid medium (Test-kit Labège, Compagnie Française de Géothermie, Orléans, France). The 110 patients were separated in 22 patients presenting with inflammatory bowel diseases and 88 patients hospitalized for other lower (n=30) or upper (n=58) digestive tract diseases. Sulfate-reducing bacteria were isolated from 10 healthy individuals (24%), 15 patients presenting with inflammatory bowel diseases (68%), and 33 patients with other symptoms (37%). A multiplex PCR was devised for the identification of Desulfovibrio piger (formerly Desulfomonas pigra), Desulfovibrio fairfieldensis and Desulfovibrio desulfuricans, and applied to the above isolates. The strains of sulfate-reducing bacteria consisted of D. piger (39 isolates), D. fairfieldensis (19 isolates) and D. desulfuricans (one isolate). The prevalence of D. piger was significantly higher in inflammatory bowel disease patients (55%) as compared to healthy individuals (12%) or patients with other symptoms (25%) (P<0.05).