SEROEPIDEMIOLOGY OF HELICOBACTER-PYLORI INFECTION IN A COHORT OF CHILDREN MONITORED FROM 6 MONTHS TO 11 YEARS OF AGE

A cohort of Swedish children was monitored from 6 months to 11 years o f age, Immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgA antibodies to Helicobacter pylor i were measured in 1,857 serum samples, drawn at the ages of 6, 8, 10, 18 months and 2, 4, and 11 years. Of the 294 children, 40 (13.6%) wer e found to have been infected at some time. However, at 11 years of ag e, only 6 of 201 (3%) children were seropositive. The highest seroprev alence of positive results, 10%, was found at 2 years of age, and the highest incidence of 13.3% could be calculated for the period between 18 months and 2 years of age. There were no confirmed additional cases for children between 1 and 11 years of age. Infection with H. pylori thus occurs at an early age in a developed country (as well as in deve loping countries), and spontaneous clearance seems to be common.