Seroepidemiology ofHelicobacter pylori infection in India

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Abstract
Helicobacter pylori (previouslyCampylobacter pylori) is now accepted as the major cause of type B gastritis and thus what is known about the epidemiology of type B gastritis can reasonably be transferred toH. pylori. We used a specific ELISA for anti-H. pylori IgG to study the prevalence ofH. pylori infection in a population of lower socioeconomic class from Hyderabad, India. The results from India were compared to studies from other parts of the world. Two hundred thirty-eight individuals ages 3 to 70 participated. The frequency ofH. pylori infection increased with age (P80% by age 20.H. pylori infection was present in 79% of the population studied; there was no gender-related difference in prevalence ofH. pylori infection. IgG antibody against hepatitis A (HAV) was rapidly acquired in Hyderabad; in a subset of 58 children between the ages of 3 and 21 tested, the frequency of anti-HAV was 98.2%. The prevalenc ofH. pylori infection increases with age in both developed and developing countries. The high age-specific prevalence ofH. pylori infection in developing countries is probably a reflection of the lower socioeconomic level of those areas.

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