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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, January 1999, p. 189-194, Vol. 37, No. 1
Veterinary Medical Teaching
Hospital1 and
Department of Medicine and
Epidemiology,
Received 2 June 1998/Returned for modification 18 August
1998/Accepted 29 September 1998
Gastric Helicobacter infection in healthy pet cats is
not well characterized. We performed endoscopy with gastric biopsy on 15 healthy pet cats that were rigorously screened to exclude underlying or concurrent diseases that might affect Helicobacter
colonization. Gastric mucosa biopsy specimens were examined by
histology, culture, and PCR for the presence of
Helicobacter infection and by histology for the presence of
gastritis. Of 15 cats, all but 1 had gastric Helicobacter-like organisms (GHLOs) on examination by light
microscopy, and in the one histologically negative cat, GHLOs were
detected by PCR. Gastric inflammation was mild or was absent for all
cats. No Helicobacter species were identified by culture.
Analysis of the 16S rRNA sequence from Helicobacter strains
from 10 cats showed that all bacteria were closely related to
Helicobacter felis, although there was heterogeneity among
the sequences. These results suggest that the gastric mucosa of healthy
pet cats is commonly colonized with an uncultivated
Helicobacter that is closely related to H. felis, is associated with little or no gastritis, and shows heterogeneity in its 16S rRNA sequence. The epithet
"Helicobacter heilmannii" continues to be an
appropriate working designation for these bacteria.
0095-1137/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Healthy Cats Are Commonly Colonized with "Helicobacter
heilmannii" That Is Associated with Minimal Gastritis
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of
Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of
California, Davis, CA 95616. Phone: (530) 752-1387. Fax: (530) 752-9620. E-mail: slmarks{at}ucdavis.edu.
Journal of Clinical Microbiology, January 1999, p. 189-194, Vol. 37, No. 1
0095-1137/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
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