Resistance to clarithromycin and gastroenterologist's persistence roles in nomination for Helicobacter pylori as high priority pathogen by World Health Organization

Due to the increasing prevalence of clarithromycin resistance, future of management of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infections need to be recognized. To now, clarithromycin was the best effective, well-tolerated and safe antibiotic used in treatment of the bacterium, but, increasing trend of resistance reduced efficacy of recommended regimens. Indeed, gastroenterologists are mostly unable to start appropriate therapyaccording to the sensitivity profile-due to the certain difficulties in routine H. pylori culture procedure and being time consuming method. This announcement by World Health Organization (WHO) was an onset to reconsider current challenging dilemma about H. pylori clarithromycin resistant isolates. Therefore, investigating of various factors affecting this nomination by WHO is highly welcomed. In fact, WHO enumerated more than 16 pathogens which seriously threats human life and public health, thus better management or effective guidelines are necessary. Here for the first time, we nominated this phenomenon as "gastroenterologist's persistence'' which should be equally investigated as antibiotic resistance. The ability of gastroenterologists to win the game against H. pylori infections is highly influenced by their collaboration with diagnostic laboratories to apply susceptibility patterns before any prescription. In conclusion, closer collaboration between two important partners (gastroenterologists and microbiologists) in management of H. pylori infection may hopefully trigger an era to remedy current crisis in clarithromycin resistance, a later gastric cancer can be practically preventable.