Stool tests are essential for screening FMT (Faecal Microbiota Transplantation) donors because they help ensure the safety and efficacy of the transplant by identifying any potentially harmful pathogens in the donor’s stool. Here’s why they are critical
- 🔍 Infectious Disease Detection
- 💩Gastrointestinal Health
- 🛡️ Regulatory and Ethical Requirements
Testing helps mitigate liability and risk for the manufacturer and ensures patient safety.See below TML.science stool screening but not limited to :
03-Stool Test Targets
BACTERIA
Campylobacter (jejuni, coli and upsaliensis)
Campylobacter (C. jejuni/C. coli/C. upsaliensis). Campylobacter are gram-negative, non-spore forming, s-shaped or spiral bacteria that are usually motile. Most sporadic infections are acquired through ingestion of undercooked poultry or from cross-contamination of other foods.
Clostridium difficile (toxin A/B)
C. difficile is obligately anaerobic, gram-positive rods capable of forming hardy spores and are widespread in nature. These bacteria are acquired from the environment or transmitted via the fecal-oral route. Some C. difficile strains produce two enterotoxins, toxin A and toxin B, that damage the large intestine of the infected individual.
Salmonella
Salmonella enterica and S. bongori are the sole members of the Salmonella genus. Greater than 2,500 different serotypes of Salmonella have been recognised, with the majority of pathogenic serotypes being within the S. enterica species. These motile, rod-shaped, gram-negative, facultative bacteria are commonly recognised as a food contaminant associated with meat, poultry, produce, and manufactured products.
Vibrio (V. parahaemolyticus/V. vulnificus/V. cholerae)
Vibrio are motile, gram-negative, comma-shaped bacteria typically found in marine environments and infections are associated with consumption of contaminated food, particularly in coastal regions.
Plesiomonas shigelloides
Plesiomonas shigelloides, gram-negative rod-shaped bacteria and members of the Enterobacteriaceae family, are isolated from a wide range of environmental sources including freshwater and many animals, both wild and domestic. P. shigelloides gastroenteritis often follows consumption of seafood, as well as contaminated water used for drinking or used in preparing uncooked foods.
Yersinia enterocolitica
Yersinia enterocolitica small, gram-negative bacilli, which generally appear as single cells or short chains. Y. enterocolitica is transmitted through ingestion of contaminated food or water, often raw undercooked meats (especially pork).
Diarrheagenic E.coli/Shigella
Pathogenic E. coli/Shigella are a significant cause of diarrheal illness worldwide.Five major Diarrheagenic E. coli/Shigella pathotypes are Enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC), Enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC), Enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC), Shiga-like toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), and Shigella/Enteroinvasive E. coli (EIEC).
Transmission of EAEC is generally by the fecal-oral route via contaminated food and water. EAEC cause an inflammatory diarrheal illness characterized by watery and sometimes bloody stool, accompanied by low grade fever, vomiting, and abdominal pain.
Enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) do not produce enterotoxins or Shiga-like toxins. Rather, EPEC contain additional virulence factors including those encoded by the chromosomal locus of enterocyte effacement (LEE) pathogenicity island.
The presence of heat-labile and/or heat-stable enterotoxins defines Enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC). These toxins (which may be found together or separately in ETEC strains) bind to intestinal epithelial cells triggering loss of electrolytes resulting in watery diarrhea.
There are two main types of Shiga-like toxins, Shiga-like toxin 1 (Stx1) and Shiga-like toxin 2 (Stx2) (also known as verotoxins). Shiga-like toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) may contain either one or both stx genes. STEC are a primary cause of bloody diarrhea
There are four subgroups of Shigella species: subgroup A (S. dysenteriae), subgroup B (S. flexneri), subgroup C (S. boydii), and subgroup D (S. sonnei). All Shigella are non-motile, gram-negative rods which are typically transferred through person-to-person contact or ingestion of contaminated food or water (humans and other primates are the only known animal reservoirs). Infections are most common where hygiene is compromised.
PARASITES
Cryptosporidium
It is a genus of protozoa capable of causing infections of the human stomach, intestine, and biliary ducts following ingestion of chlorine-tolerant oocysts which are shed in faecal material and can contaminate drinking water, recreational water, or food.
Cyclospora cayetanesis
They are parasitic protozoa that cause gastroenteritis in humans, which are the only known hosts. Unsporulated oocysts are disseminated in feces. After a period of maturation (days to weeks), the oocysts become infectious and can cause illness if ingested through contaminated food or water.
Entamoeba histolytica
Entamoeba histolytica pathogenic protozoa which are found worldwide with a particularly high prevalence in tropical and subtropical regions. E. histolytica cysts are generally ingested from materials contaminated with feces, such as food and water, but infection may also be transmitted sexually.
Giardia lamblia
Giardia lamblia (also referred to as G. duodenalis and G. intestinalis) are intestinal flagellate parasites found world-wide.Transmission occurs through ingestion of contaminated food or water.
VIRUSES
Adenovirus F 40/41
Adenoviruses are double-stranded DNA viruses of the Adenoviridae family that cause a variety of diseases including respiratory illness and gastrointestinal illness. They are resistant to chemical and physical damage and are thus persistent in the environment, facilitating transmission.
Astrovirus
Astroviruses (RNA viruses of the family Astroviridae) are named for their characteristic star-like structure and are found in a variety of animals, including birds and mammals.
Norovirus GI/GII
Noroviruses are highly contagious members of the Caliciviridae family of RNA viruses.
Rotavirus A
Rotaviruses are double stranded RNA viruses of the Reoviridae family and are the single most important etiologic agents of severe diarrheal illnesses in infants and young children worldwide.
Sapovirus
Sapovirus (Genogroups I, II, IV, and V). Sapovirus is a Calciviridae family member that is similar to Norovirus