The seroprevalence of Helicobacter pylori and its relationship to malaria in Ugandan children

Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 2012 Jan;106(1):35-42. doi: 10.1016/j.trstmh.2011.09.001. Epub 2011 Oct 20.

Abstract

Helicobacter pylori epidemiology in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly among children, has been little investigated. A secondary endpoint of our study was to examine for associations between the seroprevalence of H. pylori and the incidence of malaria. We explored H. pylori prevalence by measuring serum IgG antibodies to H. pylori whole cell and cytotoxin-associated gene A (CagA) antigens by ELISA in a longitudinal cohort of 200 Ugandan children, aged 1-10 years at enrollment, in whom malaria incidence was followed over 572 person-years. First-sample seroprevalence for H. pylori -specific IgG (63%) and for the H. pylori protein CagA (78.5%) were both high, and they were positively associated with advancing age (per each 1-year age increase, OR (95% CI): 1.60 (1.39-1.85), P<0.001). We observed nearly universal prevalence of CagA+ H. pylori by the age of 10 years in Kampala and found no evidence that H. pylori-positivity is protective against malaria.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Antigens, Bacterial / immunology
  • Antigens, Bacterial / isolation & purification*
  • Bacterial Proteins / immunology
  • Bacterial Proteins / isolation & purification*
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Cohort Studies
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
  • Female
  • Helicobacter Infections / epidemiology*
  • Helicobacter Infections / microbiology
  • Helicobacter pylori / immunology
  • Helicobacter pylori / isolation & purification*
  • Helicobacter pylori / pathogenicity
  • Humans
  • Immunoglobulin G / blood
  • Immunoglobulin G / immunology*
  • Infant
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Malaria / epidemiology*
  • Male
  • Seroepidemiologic Studies
  • Uganda / epidemiology

Substances

  • Antigens, Bacterial
  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Immunoglobulin G
  • cagA protein, Helicobacter pylori