Accelerated decline in Helicobacter pylori seroprevalence rate during the screen and treat project in Vammala, Finland, as demonstrated in 29- to 45-year-old pregnant women.

The potential preventability of serious helicobacter-associated diseases - especially gastric cancer - has evoked interest in eradicating this pathogen from the population. We assessed the efficacy of the pioneering screen and treat intervention project in Vammala by studying helicobacter seroprevalence in pregnant women representing the normal population. Consecutive maternity clinic samples from native Finnish females at five different localities in 1995 (n=701) and 2000 (n=772) were investigated for class IgG H. pylori antibodies by enzyme immunoassay (Pyloriset EIA-G III, Orion Diagnostica, Espoo, Finland). In Vammala the change in helicobacter seroprevalence was -13%-units (between 1995 and 2000; p=0.0125, chi-square test) in > or =29-year-old females, +1.6%-units (difference statistically non-significant) in <29-year-old females, and -5.5%-units (difference statistically non-significant) in the whole study population. In the four reference localities studied, all the corresponding changes remained statistically non-significant. Thus, in Vammala the programme applied accelerated the decline of helicobacter infections in 29- to 45-year-old females and in 2000 the seroprevalence rate had also become significantly lower than that of the four reference communities combined (7.6% versus 13.5%, respectively, p=0.0433, chi-square test). The final outcome of the intervention project, i.e. the long-term effect of this decline on gastric cancer and peptic ulcer disease, remains to be evaluated.

Prevention and suppression of Helicobacter felis infection in mice using colostral preparation with specific antibodies.

BACKGROUND: Specific antibodies against Helicobacter were enriched from the colostra of hyperimmunized cows. Efficacies of colostral control preparation and immune preparation containing specific antibodies against Helicobacter felis were studied in the prevention and treatment of experimental H. felis infection in mice. MATERIALS AND METHODS: H. felis-infected mice were given either immune or control preparation with or without complement or amoxicillin orally in four different trials. H. felis status was assessed on the basis of bacterial stainings, gastric histology and serum antibodies. RESULTS: Immune, but not control preparation, prevented H. felis infection (p > 0.01), the efficacy being dependent on the presence of specific antibodies. In the trial on infected Balb/c mice treatment with immune preparation (p = 0.029) but not control preparation decreased the colonization of gastric antrum by H. felis. In the further trials with infected SJL-mice, treatments with colostral preparations did not decrease colonization. Amoxicillin treatment decreased the colonization with trend-setting significance (p = 0.056; infected mice as controls), whereas amoxicillin combined with immune preparation had a significant effect (p < 0.0005). CONCLUSIONS: Specific colostral antibodies were useful in the prevention of Helicobacter infection in a mouse model. The results of the treatment trials were controversial but a similar colostral immune preparation against H. pylori could be effective and useful in preventing infections in humans and during antibiotic treatment.