Helicobacter pylori vacA virulence factor in uncultured Helicobacter heilmannii sensu lato from an infected child

Introduction: Helicobacter spp. colonizing the human stomach other than Helicobacter pylori have been rarely described in children. Case Presentation: We identified an uncultured Helicobacter heilmannii sensu lato by histology and PCR in biopsies from a symptomatic child. Surprisingly, the PCR assay demonstrated the presence of the vacA gene in this uncultured H. heilmannii sensu lato and its sequence related highly to H. pylori vacA virulence factor. The analysis of the 16S ribosomal sequence showed higher identity with uncultured Helicobacter spp. and the H. heilmannii strain, respectively. Conclusion: This is the first report that shows the presence of vacA in an uncultured H. heilmannii sensu lato extracted from human gastric mucosa.