METHODOLOGY FOR THE ISOLATION OF HELICOBACTER-PYLORI FROM FECES OF PERSONS IN THE UNITED-KINGDOM

Helicobacter pylori is now recognised as an important infectious agent in humans that may be responsible for a variety of gastric disorders. The faecal oral route represents a probable mechanism whereby the organism is transmitted. However, standard microbiological approaches using faeces as the inoculum do not result in an effective isolation of H. pylori. In this paper we describe methodology, in which the bacterial mass present in faeces is separated and then inoculated onto a selective plating medium, that results in a successful isolation in approximately 50% of cases tested in patients in the United Kingdom. Culturing of the bacterium from a patient's faeces may eventually represent a useful and non-invasive clinical indicator of H. pylori infection.