Washington, United States

A new trait has been found among bacteria like Salmonella and E. coli, called 'bacterial vampirism', by the researchers at Washington State University (WSU). These bacteria are known to cause foodborne illnesses.  

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For years, scientists have not been able to understand how these microorganisms can move from the gut to the blood, where they can act deadly. Also, they have not been able to understand why they move from the gut to the blood.

As per the team, these bacteria get attracted to the serum or blood, which is filled with nutrients that can be used as food by the bacteria.

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The pathogens are easily able to trace where the serum is and gain entry to the bloodstream via small cuts present in the digestive system, which at times also leads to death from sepsis if a person is suffering from inflammatory bowel disease. 

Vampire bacteria is attracted to small amounts of blood: Scientists

As per the scientists, even a small amount of blood is enough to attract vampire bacteria and can detect a single drop of blood in 10 billion drops of water.

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In a statement, WSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine professor and co-author Arden Baylink said, "Bacteria infecting the bloodstream can be lethal. We learned some of the bacteria that most commonly cause bloodstream infections actually sense a chemical in human blood and swim toward it."

As per the new study which was published in the journal eLife, 0.0000000000001 millilitres of serum can be detected by enterobacteria like E. coli and Salmonella.

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After finding the cut through which the blood is leaking into the gut, the bacteria crowd around it and enter it. 

A high-powered microscope system is being used by the team to simulate intestinal bleeding by injecting human serum in microscopic amounts and observing the bacteria navigate towards the source. 

The scientists watched as the microbes detected the serum in less than a minute. The strategy, in this scenario, is known as 'chemotaxis,' where bacteria shift towards higher concentrations of specific substances.

The scientists also found that Salmonella has a special protein receptor known as Tsr which helps bacteria move towards the serum. 

(With inputs from agencies)