A descriptive follow-up study onHelicobacter pylori infection before and after exposition to a war area

Abstract

One hundred and thirty asymptomatic Irish soldiers were studied before and after a 6-month peace duty in Lebanon (UNIFIL), to assess the overall prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection, relation with age, rank and education, and any increased risk of developing H. pylori infection in a cohort of asymptomatic people temporarily exposed to low levels of sanitation. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) of specific IgG were performed, at the end of the research, on blood samples taken 1 month before service abroad and within 3 months after the mission. At entry, 41 people were found to have positive H. pylori serology (31.5%), while 89 subjects (68.5%) were H. pylori negative. After 6 months of service in Lebanon, 37 people had H. pylori positive serology (28.5%), while 93 subjects (71.5%) were H. pylori negative. Therefore, no significant change occurred. The prevalence of H. pylori infection increased with age and was more prevalent in lower ranks and in those with non-tertiary education. This study shows that a 6 month long stay in poor sanitation conditions does not imply any increased risk of developing H. pylori infection, which is, however, related to age, lower rank, and non-tertiary education.

Helicobacter pylori serostatus in backpackers following travel to tropical countries.

“…Mefloquine showed some activity against all three strains of H. pylori, albeit at concentrations 1,000 times higher than ampicillin (Table 4). DISCUSSION We investigated a cohort of young travelers to Southeast Asia, South America, and Africa for the presence of newly TABLE 5 Seroconversion to Helicobacter pylori following a long-term stay in the tropics* Parameter Source Basso and others, 1994 17 Hyams and others, 1995 16 Lindkvist and others, 1995 14 Present study acquired H. pylori infection. This cohort had been exposed to feco-oral infection, as indicated by the high rate (56%) of gastroenteritis episodes during the trip.…”

“…Several other studies examined the seroprevalence of H. pylori before and after a long-term stay in a developing country. 14,16,17 Two of them investigated soldiers deployed abroad, a less suitable population for study than travelers, since soldiers are presumably exercising a tighter control over the food they consume, and their hygiene in general than do travelers. Lindkvist and others 14 studied travelers, but lacked a control group, and included only seronegative subjects.…”

Contemporary migration patterns in the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection: A systematic review

“…We identified 28 studies addressing the prevalence of H. pylori infection in migrants from 29 origin (15 from Africa, three from the Americas, six from Asia and five from Europe) and 12 destination (three from the Americas, four from Asia and Oceania, and five from Europe) countries. The reports were published between 1988 and 2014, and those providing a period of data collection refer to 1989 and 2012.…”

“…Regarding the reasons for migration, two included refugees, one was on Irish soldiers assigned to a mission in Lebanon (LBN), one was on children internationally adopted in the United States of America (USA) and the remaining were migrants with reason for migration not specified. The studies covered a wide age range, between <1 and 90 years, with sample sizes ranging from 13 to 1859 migrants.…”

Identification of the Risk Factors Associated with Helicobacter pylori Infection in Lahore, Pakistan

“…Association analysis shows that the risk factors, smoking, number of cigarettes smoked per day, type of food, type of liked food, dental complains, number of family members per house and number of persons living per room are found to be positively significantly associated with Helicobacter pylori infection, while the risk factors use of tea, source of drinking water, educational level, socio economic status, garbage collection system and sewerage system are found to be negatively associated with Helicobacter pylori infection [4][5][6][7][8][9]. On the other hand, Gender, marital status, use of antibiotics in last month, contact with animals and travelled outside the native city/town have not significant association infection.…”