THE PREVALENCE OF HELICOBACTER PYLORI INFECTIONS AND THE ASSESSMENT OF SOME RELATED FACTORS AMONG MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY STUDENTS

Wayel Almrabet, Altayeb Elazomi*, Elhadi Araibi, Basma Shebani, Farah Alrandu, Retaj Kasheem, Fawzia Shawesh, Abdalla A. Mohamed, Abdurrazag Nami and Salah Bahroun

ABSTRACT

Helicobacter pylori (HP) are gram-negative spiral bacteria that colonise the human stomach. They are present in about half the world’s population. Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is now considered one of the most common human bacterial infections. The bacteria are associated with serious gastrointestinal tract (GIT) diseases, including gastritis, peptic ulcers, mucosa-associated changes to lymphoma, and gastric cancers in adults. Direct contact between people (oral-oral or faecal-oral routes) is recognized as the main route of infection transmission, followed by food and water from contaminated sources. This study aimed to determine the seroprevalence of H. pylori among some patients suffering from GIT disorders at the Faculty of Medical Technology. Venous blood was collected from 100 students at the Faculty of Medical Technology, University of Zawia. Sera were separated and analysed using Rapid test to determine H. pylori IgG antibodies. A total of 100 sera samples was collected and analysed. The population was aged 18 – 25 years. H. pylori antibody was found in 43 (43%) of the 100 patients examined. The age group (18 – 19) showed a high positive anti- H. pylori IgM in 13 (30.2%) subjects. Positive anti- H. pylori IgM was 51% and 49% in males and females, respectively. Based on the findings of this study, it may be concluded that the Faculty of Medical Technology is seemingly endemic with H. pylori. The rate of infection decreased with age and was more pronounced in males than females.

Keywords: Helicobacter pylori, GIT disorders, Rapid test, blood groups.