{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,16]],"date-time":"2026-03-16T22:19:53Z","timestamp":1773699593965,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":65,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,15]],"date-time":"2024-07-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1721001600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"ESTHER Alliance for Global Health Partnerships and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research","award":["01KA1102"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["01KA1102"]}]},{"name":"ESTHER Alliance for Global Health Partnerships and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research","award":["68748488"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["68748488"]}]},{"name":"ESTHER Alliance for Global Health Partnerships and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research","award":["36K2-S-45 1922"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["36K2-S-45 1922"]}]},{"name":"German Research Council","award":["01KA1102"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["01KA1102"]}]},{"name":"German Research Council","award":["68748488"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["68748488"]}]},{"name":"German Research Council","award":["36K2-S-45 1922"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["36K2-S-45 1922"]}]},{"name":"German Ministry of Defense (MoD)","award":["01KA1102"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["01KA1102"]}]},{"name":"German Ministry of Defense (MoD)","award":["68748488"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["68748488"]}]},{"name":"German Ministry of Defense (MoD)","award":["36K2-S-45 1922"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["36K2-S-45 1922"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pathogens"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The study was conducted to identify cluster patterns of enteric microorganisms with potential etiological relevance for infectious gastroenteritis in stool samples of individuals from Ghana, which is a known high-endemicity setting for infectious gastroenteritis. These patterns were compared to previous observations with specimens from Colombian indigenous people in order to assess potentially stable clustering for temporally and spatially distinct populations from high-endemicity regions. By doing so, the study aimed to identify stable clusters as markers of microbial interaction with potential importance for etiological relevance assignment in cases of multiple enteric pathogen detections. Stool samples from 1569 Ghanaian individuals (875 from HIV patients, 30 from HIV-negative control adult patients, and 644 from children &lt; 2 years of age) were assessed for enteric microorganisms by applying real-time PCR. As a result, nucleic acids of bacterial microorganisms were most frequently detected, followed by protozoa, microsporidia, and helminths. Interestingly, the cluster assessment confirmed interaction patterns known from the previous analysis with Colombian indigenous people, demonstrating a high likelihood of Blastocystis hominis for clustering with other microorganisms and a prominent, potentially mediating role of Dientamoeba fragilis for microbial interactions within the clusters. In conclusion, the assessment confirmed conserved clustering of enteric microorganisms with potential etiological relevance for human infectious gastroenteritis over geographically distinct high-endemicity settings. Furthermore, the composition of abundant microorganisms is more important than regional factors for the determination of the interplay of enteric microorganisms in the human gut. Thereby, some microbial pathogens and commensals seem more susceptible to a changing microbial composition in the human gut than others.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/pathogens13070583","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,15]],"date-time":"2024-07-15T14:15:49Z","timestamp":1721052949000},"page":"583","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":8,"title":["Clustering of Gastrointestinal Microorganisms in Human Stool Samples from Ghana"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Joy","family":"Backhaus","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Statistical Consulting, 97074 Wuerzburg, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Simone","family":"Kann","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology and Hospital Hygiene, Bundeswehr Central Hospital Koblenz, 56070 Koblenz, Germany"},{"name":"Institute of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology (IMMIP), University Hospital Bonn, 53127 Bonn, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5157-8369","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Andreas","family":"Hahn","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Medical Microbiology, Virology and Hygiene, University Medicine Rostock, 18057 Rostock, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9173-7072","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Felix","family":"Weinreich","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"German-Dutch Corps, 48143 M\u00fcnster, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Martin","family":"Blohm","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory Department, Bundeswehr Hospital Berlin, 10115 Berlin, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0198-3291","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Konstantin","family":"Tanida","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Microbiology, Virology and Hygiene, University Hospital Eppendorf, 20251 Hamburg, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6755-4492","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Torsten","family":"Feldt","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Infectious Diseases, Medical Faculty and University Hospital D\u00fcsseldorf, Heinrich Heine University D\u00fcsseldorf, 40225 D\u00fcsseldorf, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Fred Stephen","family":"Sarfo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi 00233, Ghana"},{"name":"Department of Medicine, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi 00233, Ghana"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1604-8386","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Veronica","family":"Di Cristanziano","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Virology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital of Cologne, University of Cologne, 50935 Cologne, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ulrike","family":"Loderst\u00e4dt","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Infection Control and Infectious Diseases, University Medical Center G\u00f6ttingen, 37075 G\u00f6ttingen, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Stephan","family":"Ehrhardt","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MA 21205, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Stefanie","family":"Schoppen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health and Social Science, Hochschule Fresenius, 20148 Hamburg, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9300-665X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Harry","family":"Tagbor","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Medicine, Department of Community Health, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho PMB 31, Ghana"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8967-9528","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hagen","family":"Frickmann","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Medical Microbiology, Virology and Hygiene, University Medicine Rostock, 18057 Rostock, Germany"},{"name":"Department of Microbiology and Hospital Hygiene, Bundeswehr Hospital Hamburg, 20359 Hamburg, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1002-0326","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kirsten Alexandra","family":"Eberhardt","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Tropical Medicine, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine & I. 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