title: Low prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection in young children in the Netherlands.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the seroprevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection in young children from the general population in The Netherlands.
  
  
  METHODS
  Determination of IgG antibodies against H. pylori, using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technique [cutoff 0.32 Absorption Index (AI)], in serum from 1258 children who were 2-4 years of age. The serum was obtained from a serum bank of 6127 children who attended the community child healthcare centers in the Dutch province of Zuid-Holland.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In general, we found a seroprevalence of 1.2% of H. pylori infection, with a significant difference between the children with parents who were both Dutch (0.5%), and the children with at least one non-Dutch parent (2.6%) (P<0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence of H. pylori infection in young infants in the general population in The Netherlands is low. Children with at least one non-Dutch parent form a risk group, however, for H. pylori infection in The Netherlands.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands. P.E.C.Mourad-Baars@lumc.nl
authors.forename: Petronella E C
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Mourad-Baars
authors.forename: Hein W
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Verspaget
authors.forename: Bart J A
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Mertens
authors.forename: M Luisa
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Mearin
mesh_terms: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016480:Helicobacter pylori; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D007074:Immunoglobulin G