Prevalence of Helicobacter pylori in children and their family members in a district in Turkey.

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori among children and their family members and to evaluate some epidemiologic characteristics. The study included 275 children, aged 1-15 year(s), suffering from different gastrointestinal complaints. Blood serology and stool antigen testing were used for the diagnosis of infection due to H. pylori. Sixty-five (23.6%) of the 275 children were positive for H. pylori, and this positivity had a significantly increasing correlation with age (p<0.001). H. pylori-associated infection was observed among 45 (69.2%) and 17 (8%) mothers in the H. pylori-infected and non-infected groups respectively (p<0.0001). Most children and their families infected with H. pylori were living in an urban area. The findings suggest that infection due to H. pylori is a problem for this district area, and all children having any gastrointestinal complaints should be examined whether H. pylori was prevalent among their family members.

Measles is still a severe problem in Eastern Turkey.

In this study, we reviewed the demographic and clinical findings of 143 children with measles to draw attention the importance of measles and its complications in Eastern Turkey. Of 143 patients, 75 (52.5%) were boys, 68 (47.5%) were girls. The patients' age ranged from 5 months to 13 years (3.97 +/- 3.11 years). The peak of admissions (37%) occurred in the age range five to 24 months. The majority of the cases (84.7%) were not immunized against measles. Of 143 cases, 104 (72.7%) cases were malnourished. Of 143 children, 57 (40%) children had one or more complication of measles and the most common complication was pneumonia. Two (1.3%) children died. In conclusion, our findings showed that measles and its complications were severe problem in our country. We think that it is primarily related to very low socioeconomic status of our region.