High prevalence of Helicobacter heilmannii-associated gastritis in a small, predominantly rural area: further evidence in support of a zoonosis?
BACKGROUND
Primary hosts of Helicobacter heilmannii are domestic animals--cats, dogs and pigs, but rarely is it detected in gastric biopsies from humans. We found H. heilmannii in gastric biopsies obtained from patients living in a predominantly rural area.


METHODS
We evaluated geographic and demographic data from the area and calculated both the total prevalence and the prevalence in each community in this area. Chi-squared test and exploratory data analysis were used for statistical evaluation. Histologic and clinical data were recorded.


RESULTS
Forty-three communities, mostly rural, were identified in the area, the size of which is about 200 km2. H. heilmannii was detected in 33 patients (prevalence 2%) living in 20 communities. The prevalence of H. heilmannii statistically significantly varied in those communities from 0.06%-1.1%. It was possible to infer that there is a negative correlation between prevalence and community size. Chronic active gastritis was diagnosed in all patients. The active inflammation became inactive after eradication of H. heilmannii via common anti-Helicobacter therapy.


CONCLUSIONS
A high prevalence of H. heilmannii-associated gastritis in a small, predominantly rural area and statistically significant differences in prevalence from one community to the next, i.e. highest in the smallest village and lowest in a small town with a rather urban lifestyle, were found. In our opinion, these prevalence rates may be a consequence of transmission of the infection from domestic animals, because animal-human contact is generally more common in villages than in towns.
Svec
A
A
Dept. of Pathology, Community Hospital, Horovice, Czech Republic.
Kordas
P
P
Pavlis
Z
Z
Novotný
J
J
D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic; D002415:Cats; D018153:Czech Republic / Q000453:epidemiology; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D005756:Gastritis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D018247:Helicobacter heilmannii; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012424:Rural Population; D013552:Swine; D015047:Zoonoses / Q000635:transmission*