TRANSMISSION OF PORPHYROMONAS-GINGIVALIS BETWEEN SPOUSES

Porphyromonas gingivalis has been associated with severe forms of peri odontitis. The question can be raised about the origin of this suspect ed periodontal pathogen. The purpose of the present investigation was to study the possibility of transmission of P. gingivalis between spou ses. 18 patients were selected with severe periodontitis and colonized with P. gingivalis. 10 of their spouses appeared to be colonized with P. gingivalis too. 8 of the patients and their spouses were investiga ted further clinically and microbiologically. Microbiological evaluati on revealed mostly high %s of P. gingivalis in the pockets, not only o f the patients (5-48% of the cultivable flora), but also in 7 of the 8 spouses (0.2-61%). Furthermore, this species was isolated often from the saliva, the tongue, the buccal mucosa and the tonsillar area from both patients and spouses. For typing purposes, bacterial DNA was isol ated, treated with the restriction endonucleases Bam HI or Pst I, afte r which the DNA fragments were separated by agarose gelelectrophoresis . With one exception, each individual was colonized with only one clon al type of P. gingivalis. The DNA patterns of all P. gingivalis isolat es from unrelated individuals were found to be distinct. In contrast, in 6 of the 8 couples, the DNA patterns of isolates from husband and w ife were indistinguishable. From these data, it can be concluded that it is most likely, that P. gingivalis can be transmitted between spous es. It remains to be investigated whether transmission of P. gingivali s is a risk factor for developing periodontal destruction.