Chemical Profiles for Infectious Diarrhea Diagnose Diseases

Smells from healthy feces and people with infectious diarrhea differ significantly in their chemical composition and could be used to diagnose quickly diseases such as Clostridium difficile.

A study, published online in the February 2007 edition of the online journal FASEB, is the result of a joint collaboration between Dr. Chris Probert, Consultant and Reader in gastroenterology at Bristol University (Bristol, UK) and Professor Norman Ratcliffe at the University of the West of England (Bristol, UK). The study will appear in the June 2007 issue of the printed journal.

For a long time it has been known that stools have distinctive and different odors if there is an infection. What the scientists have done is to take this 'knowledge' a step further by analyzing the odor of healthy donors and patients with gastrointestinal disease to see if precise chemical profiles can be established. The scientists compared feces of healthy donors together with patients with ulcerative colitis, C jejuni, and C difficile and found that the chemical composition of each was significantly different.

Dr Chris Probert said, The discovery of chemical profiles is a major step forward in the diagnosis and treatment of people with gastrointestinal disease. Early treatment of C difficile means patients have a much better chance of survival and fewer complications. However, at present the average length of time taken to diagnose the condition is eight days.

Two of the most common types of infectious diarrhoea are Campylobacter jejuni and C difficile. Although less well known than the methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), C difficile is just as serious, and affects more than 50,000 people each year in England and Wales at a cost to the National Health Service (NHS) of around UK£60 million.

Dr Chris Probert added, There is a huge potential for a rapid diagnosis device in the UK, 30,000 samples are tested in Bristol alone each year. However, the device could be adapted for use in developing countries where 7,000 children die as a result of diarrhea every day. Our next aim is to produce a prototype device capable of diagnosing at any healthcare setting.

Professor Norman Ratcliffe, from the University of the West of England, added, There are numerous different kinds of infection that cause diarrhoea and a speedy diagnosis would lead to more appropriate use of antibiotics. A rapid diagnosis device has the potential to save lives and reduce the cost burden to the National Health Service [NHS; UK]. Early isolation of infectious patients would reduce hospital outbreaks leading to fewer ward/hospital closures.


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Bristol University
University of the West of England