PREVALENCE OF HELICOBACTER-PYLORI INFECTION IN CHILDREN FROM URBAN AND RURAL WEST-VIRGINIA

Our objective was to evaluate the prevalence rate of Helicobacter pylo ri (HP) in children from urban and rural areas of West Virginia. In al l, 1164 blood samples were collected from children who attended a loca l health fair, pediatric clinics, and emergency departments of four di fferent hospitals located in urban and rural counties. Socioeconomic s tatus was determined in 303 children. Serum HP antibody (IgG) was meas ured by enzyme immunoassay (EIA). A total of 468 (40%) samples were HP positive. HP acquisition correlated with increasing age, family crowd ing, and community location (urban/rural) but not with gender, water s ource used (city/well), or socioeconomic status. The prevalence rate o f HP in the children of West Virginia is higher than any data previous ly reported from the United States. The results correlated with only f ew socioeconomic criteria, suggesting that other factors may contribut e to the increased prevalence of HP infection in the children of West Virginia.