PREVALENCE OF HELICOBACTER-PYLORI IN CHILDREN DEPENDENTLY ON AGE AND LIVING-CONDITIONS

The aim of the study was to examine the prevalence of Helicobacter pyl ori (H. pylori) in children in Lodz (Poland). The study was a serologi cal survey of IgG antibodies to H. pylori in randomly chosen 240 child ren aged 6 months to 17 years. The serum was tested by ELISA technique (Porton-Cambridge, England) and by immunoenzymatic test (Quidel, USA) . Some aspects of the family environment were studied. We found 15% in fected children under 2 years, 16.6% infected children aged 3-5 years, 28.3% aged 6-10 years and 41.6% aged 11-17 years. We observed much hi gher prevalence of H. pylori infection in children from poor living co nditions and in children from families with seropositive adults.