HELICOBACTER-PYLORI INFECTION WITHIN FAMILIES

Although H. pylori is now well established as the aetiological agent o f acute or chronic gastritis and a predisposing factor in peptic ulcer ation knowledge regarding the transmission of this organism is unclear . The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of H. pylori inf ection in the family members of index children infected with this orga nism and to examine the role of ethnic background and the relationship of hepatitis A infection to H. pylori infection. The H. pylori status of three groups of subjects, the family members of 21 children shown by endoscopical and histological examination to be infected with H. py lori, the family members of 17 children who had been the index case in a hepatitis study and a control group of Australian blood donors and children were examined using an IgG ELISA. The results of this study s howed an increased prevalence of H. pylori infection to exist in the f amily members of index children infected with H. pylori compared with the family members of children not infected with H. pylori and an age matched blood donor control group. This increased prevalence of H. pyl ori infection was not dependent on ethnic background and appeared to b e unrelated to the hepatitis A status of subjects. These results stron gly support the view that transmission of H. pylori is person to perso n and that transmission may not be the faecal oral route.