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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, May 2005, p. 2256-2260, Vol. 43, No. 5
0095-1137/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JCM.43.5.2256-2260.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Identification of Non-Helicobacter pylori Spiral Organisms in Gastric Samples from Humans, Dogs, and Cats

Department of Pathology, Bacteriology, and Poultry Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Salisburylaan 133, B-9820 Merelbeke, Belgium,¹ Department of Pathology, Academisch Ziekenhuis Maastricht, P. Debyelaan 25, NL-6202 AZ Maastricht, The Netherlands,² Department of Gastroenterology, Clinique St. Pierre, Avenue Reine Fabiola 8, B-1340 Ottignies, Belgium,³ Department of Gastroenterology, Nouvelle Clinique de la Basilique, Pangaertstraat 37-47, B-1083 Brussels, Belgium,⁴ Department of Pathology, Klinikum Bayreuth, Preuschwitzerstrasse 101, D-95445 Bayreuth, Germany⁵

Received 20 October 2004/ Returned for modification 4 December 2004/ Accepted 17 January 2005

Tightly coiled bacteria are a rare cause of gastric pathology in humans and represent a mixture of species for which a zoonotic origin is suspected. Similar organisms are common inhabitants of the gastric mucosae of carnivores and pigs. It was the goal of the present study to determine the actual occurrence of each individual Helicobacter species in human, canine, and feline stomachs in order to better understand the possible zoonotic significance. Gastric biopsy samples from humans with histological evidence of non-Helicobacter pylori spiral bacteria (n = 123) and samples from the gastric antrum, corpus, and cardia from dogs (n = 110) and cats (n = 43) were subjected to a multiplex PCR, enabling the identification of Helicobacter felis, Helicobacter bizzozeronii, Helicobacter salomonis, and "Candidatus Helicobacter suis." A PCR for detecting H. pylori was applied to all human samples. Single infections with "Candidatus Helicobacter suis," H. felis, H. bizzozeronii, H. salomonis, a hitherto unknown genotype of a non-H. pylori spiral organism (Helicobacter-like organism 135 [HLO135]), and H. pylori were identified in 30.9%, 8.9%, 2.4%, 11.4%, 7.3%, and 8.9% of the human biopsy samples, respectively. Mixed infections (16.3%) with two or even three of these were also found. In the canine stomach, H. bizzozeronii (70.0%) was encountered as the main spiral organism, while H. felis (62.7%) and HLO135 (67.4%) were the predominant Helicobacter species found in the feline gastric mucosa. Although the majority of human non-H. pylori organisms are Helicobacter species naturally occurring in the stomachs of pigs, cats, and dogs, the frequent identification of H. salomonis in human gastric biopsy samples is in contrast to its rare identification in pet carnivore samples, urging us to suspect other sources of infection.

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