Gut bacterial dysbiosis in pediatric severe malaria associates with post-discharge mortality

Olivia J. Bednarski, Sawyer B. Lehman, David Mzinza, Caroline Kazinga, Ruth Namazzi, Robert O. Opoka, Jie Ren, Tuan M. Tran, Terrie E. Taylor, Karl B. Seydel, Chandy C. John, Andrea L. Conroy and Nathan W. Schmidt ()
Additional contact information
Olivia J. Bednarski: Indiana University School of Medicine
Sawyer B. Lehman: Indiana University School of Medicine
David Mzinza: Malawi University of Science and Technology
Caroline Kazinga: Makerere University College of Health Sciences
Ruth Namazzi: Makerere University College of Health Sciences
Robert O. Opoka: Makerere University College of Health Sciences
Jie Ren: Indiana University School of Medicine
Tuan M. Tran: Indiana University School of Medicine
Terrie E. Taylor: Kamuzu University of Health Sciences
Karl B. Seydel: Kamuzu University of Health Sciences
Chandy C. John: Indiana University School of Medicine
Andrea L. Conroy: Indiana University School of Medicine
Nathan W. Schmidt: Indiana University School of Medicine

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-18

Abstract: Abstract Gut microbiota have been implicated in severe malaria in murine models, but their contribution to the pathogenesis of severe malaria in children is unknown. Here we show through analysis of gut bacteria in stool samples from two separate African studies enrolling children with severe malaria, and children from local communities, that children with severe malaria have gut bacteria dysbiosis. Among children with severe malaria, there is increased abundance of Enterobacteriaceae that associates with multiple clinical complications of severe malaria. Moreover, increased abundance of Escherichia coli was a predictor of post-discharge mortality. Metagenome analysis identify elevated metabolic pathways and genes supporting the utilization of host-derived molecules in children with severe malaria that have the potential to promote the survival and growth of Enterobacteriaceae. Treatments that target Enterobacteriaceae may have the potential to reduce post-discharge mortality in children with severe malaria.

Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-64632-3 Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-64632-3

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-64632-3

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().