Bacteriological Investigation on Helicobacter infection, A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is the causative agent of the most cases of human gastritis. Unfortunately, there is no established accurate standard for the diagnosis of H. pylori infection. Several diagnostic tests have been employed for diagnosis of H. pylori infections. Culture, microscopic examination, histopathology, rapid urease test (RUT), serology, biochemical tests, antigen detection and molecular techniques all are tried. In the present study, 250 gastric biopsies were collected from male and female dyspeptic patients of different ages recruited to the Gastroenterology Unit at Ahmed Maher Hospital, a governmental hospital that is located at the west of Cairo metropolitan, from November 2019 to December 2020. Samples were subjected to bacteriological studies to isolate and identify H. pylori. Fifty isolates were identified as Helicobacter spp. according to the morphological and biochemical bases. The biochemical behavior was variable among different isolates. When a specific semi-nested PCR assay was applied on DNA extracted from the helicobacter isolates, only 5 were identified as H. pylori while the rest were considered as non- pyloric helicobacters. Therefore, a reliable diagnosis is crucial for better eradication therapy of helicobacter-originated infections in human and animals. Results of more than one test are required to elucidate the real causative agents of human gastritis and to detect animal carriers of helicobacter.