GASTROSPIRILLUM HOMINIS AND HUMAN CHRONIC GASTRITIS

Gastrospirillum hominis, a new spiral bacterium, was found in the gast ric mucosa of two patients with antral chronic gastritis. These 2 case s originated from a series of 2781 consecutive gastric biopsies observ ed over a period of five years, with a prevalence of 0.072%. Dogs and cats may be responsible for transmission to humans but in our experien ce no contact with pets was documented. Detection of these organisms m ight provide new insight into the pathogenesis of human gastritis.