Prevalence of Helicobacter felis and Helicobacter heilmannii and Co-infection With Helicobacter pylori in Gastric Biopsy Specimens in Endoscopy Ward of Shahid Beheshti Hospital, Hamadan City, Iran
Authors:   Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran., Khalilian Alireza , Karami Pezhman ,   Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran., Bakhtyari Somayeh ,   Department of Molecular Microbiology, Farzan Molecular and Pathobiology laboratory, Hamadan, Iran., Ezati Razieh ,   Department of Molecular Microbiology, Farzan Molecular and Pathobiology laboratory, Hamadan, Iran, Khosravi Sara ,   Department of Medical Virology, Faculty of Medicine, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran., Amini Razieh ,   Department of Molecular Medicine and Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran., Talebi Seyed Saman ,   Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran., Torkaman Asadi Fatemeh ,   Department of Infectious Disease, Faculty Medicine, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran., Fazeli Maryam ,   Department of Medical Virology, Faculty of Medicine, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran., Soleimani Somayeh ,   Department of Molecular Microbiology, Farzan Molecular and Pathobiology laboratory, Hamadan, Iran., Mahmoudvand Shahab ,   Department of Molecular Microbiology, Farzan Molecular and Pathobiology laboratory, Hamadan, Iran., Ghasemi Hadi ,   Department of Molecular Microbiology, Farzan Molecular and Pathobiology laboratory, Hamadan, Iran., Baniardalan Shadi ,   Department of Molecular Microbiology, Farzan Molecular and Pathobiology laboratory, Hamadan, Iran., Azizi Jalilian Farid ,   Department of Medical Virology, Faculty of Medicine, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran
Published: July 2022

Background: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) has various strains associated with human infections. H. pylori, H. heilmannii, and H. felis are the most common strains in humans. H. pylori is associated with several human diseases such as chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer, mucous membrane lymphoma, and gastric adenocarcinoma. This study aimed to determine the prevalence rates of H. felis and H. heilmannii and the effect of co-infection with H. pylori in gastric biopsy specimens of patients. Methods: Totally, 80 gastric biopsy specimens were taken by a physician from the patients referred to Shahid Beheshti Hospital, Hamadan City, Iran. PCR test was used to confirm the presence of H. pylori in samples that had positive rapid urease tests. Moreover, the ureB gene and ureA and ureB genes were used for H. heilmannii and H. felis, respectively. Results: Of the study patients, 61.5% were females, and 38.5% were males with a mean age of 37.8 years. Of 80 biopsies, 50% were H. pylori-positive, 53.8% were H. heilmannii-positive, but no H. felis was identified in any sample. Results indicate that smoking, having a history of gastrointestinal diseases, and taking certain medications can be risk factors for H. pylori. Conclusion: Any agent contributing to gastric mucosal damage can enhance the susceptibility to bacterial contamination. Overall, the results indicate a low probability of interactions between H. pylori, H. heilmannii, and H. felis.