DETECTION OF <i>HELICOBACTER PYLORI</i> FROM FOOD SOURCES BY A NOVEL MULTIPLEX PCR ASSAY

Abstract

ABSTRACT Helicobacter pylori infection is worldwide and it has been recognized as an important cause of gastritis, gastric and duodenal ulcers. However, the modes of transmission of H. pylori infection are unclear. This study was designed to detect H. pylori from raw or ready‐to‐eat foods to provide more evidence for oral‐oral and fecal‐oral transmission patterns. For this purpose, a total of 11 fresh raw chickens from a local grocery and 18 orders of ready‐to‐eat raw tuna meat from a restaurant were collected. H. pylori were detected with our new multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay, which can amplify 10 DNA fragments from five gene loci at the same time. H. pylori were positive in 36% (4/11) of the raw chickens and 44% (8/18) of the ready‐to‐eat raw tuna meat tested using the new multiplex PCR assay. Our results demonstrate that food might be a vehicle for H. pylori transmission among humans. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS The prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection may be as high as 80% in developing countries and up to 40% in developed countries. However, the mode of transmission, the natural history and other aspects of the epidemiology of H. pylori infection are still unclear. There have been no reports of H. pylori being cultured and isolated from foods. In this study we designed a one‐step multiplex polymerase chain reaction assay to amplify 10 DNA fragments at the same time to detect H. pylori , which could overcome the difficulty in identifying H. pylori by using culture or other routine tests. Since this assay is so sensitive, specific and rapid, it has a great potential for identifying H. pylori , which is difficult to be cultured by using current methods, from different food samples.