Prevalence of Helicobacter pylori cagA, babA2, and dupA genotypes and correlation with clinical outcome in Malaysian patients with dyspepsia.

Results: The positive rates for cagA , babA2, and dupA genes in H. pylori dyspeptic patients were 69.5%, 41.0%, and 22.9%, respectively. cagA was more prevalent in Indians (39.7%), babA2 was more prevalent in Malays (39.5%), and dupA detection occurred more frequently in both Indians and Malays and at the same rate (37.5%). The Chinese inhabitants had the lowest prevalence of the three genes. Nonulcer disease patients had a significantly higher distribution of cagA (76.7%), babA2 (74.4%), and dupA (75.0%). There was no apparent association between these virulence genes and the clinical outcomes. Conclusion: The lower prevalence of these genes and variations among different ethnicities implies that the strains are geographically and ethnically dependent. None of the virulence genes were knowingly beneficial in predicting the clinical outcome of H. pylori infection in our subjects.