Abstract

   This study aimed to determine the relationship between H.pylori and chronic gastritis. It was carried out on 90 patients with chronic gastritis admitted to Hilla surgical teaching hospital and Merjan hospital during the period May/1999 to May/2000, normal controls were represented by 50 normal subjects. Three antral biopsy  samples  were  taken  from  each  subject.  The  study  parameters  were  the  detection  of  urease production, demonstration of bacteriological culture, and studying the histopathological changes in the gastric mucosa. The results revealed that 79 /90 (87.7%) patients were suffering from H.pylori infection associated with marked inflammatory cells and polymorphnuclear cells infiltration in the intraepithelial regions and lamina propria and there is no atrophy of gastric gland and intestinal metaplasia. The control group showed only 12/50 (24%) positive evidence of H.pylori.

 
Introduction:
       Several epidemiological studies have revealed that the infection with H.pylori is more common in developing countries and  among  individuals  with socioeconomic status [1,2]. Although is contracted in childhood, the prevalence of organism increases with age, cohort effect  reflecting  a  lower  standard  of living  and  higher  childhood  infection rate  in  previous  generation  [3,4].  The adult  infection  and  re-infection  rate  is thought to be about (0.5 n1.0) % per year [5]. The main rout of infection is from person to person either by  fecal-oral or oral  -  oral  mean  [6].  The  proposed sequence  for  development  of  gastric adenocarcinoma  is  well  correlated  to H.pylori   infection  of  gastric mucosa  ,likewise  H.pylori  infection  is the  main  environment  factor  causing active chronic atrophic gastritis with loss of  chief  cells  and  parietal  cells  and making media susceptible to the effect of carcinogens  which are generated by an over ngrowth of nitrifying bacteria and some other dietary factor including high salts  intake  and  low  vitamin  C   consumption [7,8]. H.pylori can cause an acute gastritis immediately after initial  infection  with  the  organism  [9].This  work  aimed  to  detect  the relationship  of  H.pylori  and  chronic gastritis.