C. Dore-davin et al., Helicobacter pylori in the oral cavity reflects handling of contaminants but not gastric infection, DIGESTION, 60(3), 1999, pp. 196-202
Helicobacter pylori colonises the gastric mucosa, but can also be found wit
hin the oral cavity. The presence of H. pylori was monitored in the oral ca
vity of 22 patients with duodenal ulcer, before and after antibiotic treatm
ent and of 24 hospital employees who were or were not professionally expose
d to H. pylori, Gastric infection was determined by breath test. Bacteria i
n the oral cavity were detected by nested PCR of samples containing saliva
and dental plaque, using primers specific for 16S rRNA and ureC genes. Befo
re treatment, 9 out of 22 infected ulcer patients harbored H. pylori in the
ir oral cavity. Bacteria disappeared from the oral cavity of 3 of 7 cured p
atients. Twelve of 17 exposed subjects harbored H, pylori in their oral cav
ity, while no bacteria could be detected in the mouths of the 7 nonexposed
subjects. Presence of bacteria in the oral cavity reflects handling of cont
aminants; it does not correlate with gastric infection and does not seem to
promote it.