UPDATES IN EPIDEMIOLOGY AND PREVENTION OF HELICOBACTER PYLORI INFECTION

Worldwide more than 1 billion people are estimated to be infected with Helicobacter pylori. Numerous factors from age to genetic predisposition and educational level were incriminated in the high prevalence of the bacteria. The direct and indirect transmission paths were studied but a defined transmission path is not established. The most plausible transmission path is human-to-human: vertical or horizontal and the possible routes are gastro-oral, oral-oral, or fecal-oral. Due to the increased resistance to various antibiotics, which leads to treatment failure, more attention is given to prevention and new alternative therapies. From Cladosiphon fucoidan a safe, non-antibiotic agent to plant extract with antibacterial activity mixed with baby milk many alternative therapies were proposed in order to prevent H. pylori infection and reduce the risk of associated gastric cancer. The ultimate strategy regarding the infection must be the complete eradication of the bacterium and vaccination against H. pylori remains the most challenging issue.