The microbiology of Helicobacter pylori

Helicobacter pylori was first isolated only in 1983, but has rapidly gained an extraordinary prominence in gastroenterology and medical microbiology. It lives only in the human stomach beneath the mucin layer which protects it from the lethal effects of gastric acid. Although it has a very high prevalence (30–40% in developed and more than 80% in developing countries), the route of infection is not known; gastro-oral and faecal routes have been postulated. The organism is associated with gastritis, duodenal and gastric ulcers and gastric cancer as well as a number of diseases at distant sites. It can be eradicated with combinations of antibiotics, after which the rate of infection is low.