Helicobacteria in animals: myth or reality? 2. First steps in a bacteriological and clinical study for domestic carnivores.

The purpose of this study is to reveal helicobacteria in a direct or indire ct way. Biopsies came from the stomach of healthy or diseased dogs and cats submitted to a gastroscopical examination. Different steps and approaches have been followed: direct Gram staining, urease tests, culture on several appropriate media and comparison with histopathology. The results have show n that the stomach of carnivora in Belgium are colonized by helicobacteria. We have not been able to identify the species of the genus Helicobacter an d to associate in a statistical way the presence of helicobacteria with les ions. The use of PCR will improve these results.