An investigation of the relationships between AIDS and Helicobacter pylori infection

Background and Objectives:Helicobacter Pylori is a bacillus that naturally colonizes human, living in gastric mucus. There is 20% prevalence of infection with Helicobacter pylori among adolescents in United States in comparison to infection rates exceeding 90% in the developing countries. Association of H. pylori colonization of stomach with chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer and gastric malignancies has been well documented. In this study we aimed to find presence of H. pylori in stool of HIV infected patients by PCR. Materials & Methods: Forty-three patients who had confirmed HIV-infection were subjected. Specific primers for hpaA (Flagellar sheath adhesin) and ureB (urea amidohydrolase) of helicobacter pylori were designed and presence of the genome of H. pylori investigated by PCR method. positive control consisted genome of H. pylori 26695 and Negative control consisted of the PCR components on reaction mixtures lacking H. pylori DNA. Results : 35(81.39%) of the patients had CD4+ count below 200 and H. pylori was found in 30(69.76%) patients. There was not any significant relationship between CD4+ count and presence of H. pylori (Pvalue >0.05). Conclusion: Results show from by screening H. pylori in stool of HIV-infected patients that prevalence of this bacterium in these patients is high. This prevalence is similar to prevalence of H. pylori in HIV-non infected population. This finding can be interpreted that H. pylori is present in gastric of HIV-infected patients but can not reveal its clinical symptoms and can not develop disease. This may indicates that frequent use of antibiotic in HIV-infected patients has role in eradication or controlling H. pylori infection but can not completely eradicate H. pylori from gastric of these patients.