Presence and significance of Helicobacter spp. in the gastric mucosa of Portuguese dogs

Abstract

BackgroundNon-Helicobacter pylori Helicobacters (NHPH) are also able to cause disease in humans. Dogs are a natural reservoir for many of these species. Close and intense human contact with animals has been identified as a risk factor and therefore, an important zoonotic significance has been attributed to NHPH.MethodsTo determine the prevalence of Helicobacter species and the gastric histopathological changes associated, gastric mucosa samples of 69 dogs were evaluated.ResultsOnly one dog presented a normal histopathological mucosa with absence of spiral-shaped organisms. A normal gastric mucosa and the presence of spiral-shaped bacteria was observed in two dogs. All remaining animals presented histopathological changes representative of gastritis. Helicobacter species were detected in 60 dogs (87.0%) by at least one detection method. Histological, histochemical and immunohistochemical evaluations revealed that Helicobacter spp. were present in 45 (65.2%), 52 (75.4%) and 57 (82.6%) dogs, respectively. Spiral-shaped bacteria were detected by qPCR analysis in 33 (47.8%) dogs. H. heilmannii-like organisms were identified in 22 animals (66.7%) and predominantly in the antral gastric region. H. salomonis was the second most prevalent species (51.5%) although it was mainly found in association with other Helicobacter spp. and in the body gastric region. H. bizzozeronii and H. felis were less frequently detected.ConclusionsIt was concluded that, despite the high incidence and worldwide distribution of gastric NHPH in dogs, the presence of specific Helicobacter species may vary between geographic regions. NHPH infections were significantly accompanied by mild to moderate intraepithelial lymphocyte infiltration and mild to moderate gastric epithelial injury, but a clear relationship between gastritis and Helicobacter infection could not be established.

Detection of Helicobacter spp. in the saliva of dogs with gastritis

“…The most common species identified in Finland, the United States and Belgium is Helicobacter bizzozeronii (Jalava et al 1997, Priestnall et al 2004, Bulck et al 2005. Helicobacter salomonis is the most commonly found species in Sweden (Ekman et al 2013), while Helicobacter heilmannii is the most recognized species in Poland, Portugal and South Korea (Hwang et al 2002, Kubiak 2006, Amorim et al 2015. Helicobacter pylori rarely occur in dogs.…”

“…In animals, invasive methods are used more commonly than non-invasive ones to detect Helicobacter spp. (Swora et al 2009, Urban 2010, Bakri 2012, Sowjanya et al 2013, Amorim et al 2015. The aim of this study was to identify the species and determine the prevalence of gastric Helicobacter in the saliva of dogs with gastritis.…”

“…Helicobacter spp. was found in 67-86% of clinically healthy dogs, in 61-100% of animals with chronic vomiting and in 100% of laboratory beagle dogs and dogs from shelters (Henry et al 1987, Eaton et al 1996, Hwang et al 2002, Bulck et al 2005, Amorim et al 2015. Despite the high prevalence of the microorganism, its transmission, including human-human, animal-human, human-animal and animal-animal paths, remains unclear (Recordati et al 2007, Ekman et al 2013.…”

The Other Helicobacters

“…Helicobacter species were detected in the stomach of 87% of Portuguese dogs investigated . H. heilmannii ‐like organisms were shown to be the most prevalent, and H. salomonis was the second most prevalent species, mostly in association with other Helicobacter spp., whereas H. bizzozeronii and H. felis were less frequently detected.…”

Carta al Editor Es erróneo hacer una asociación directa entre la detección de <i>Helicobacter</i> spp. y gastritis en caninos

“…Las infecciones, causadas por varias especies de Helicobacter de forma simultánea, han sido reportadas previamente, las cuales parecen ser muy frecuentes (Amorim et al 2015). Estos datos complican, no sólo a nivel de diagnóstico, determinar las especies presentes en los animales, sino que afecta establecer, con certeza, si alguna de las especies presentes podría tener algún efecto en el desarrollo de lesiones gástricas.…”