Household behaviours and prevalence of intrafamilial Helicobacter pylori infection

Objective. To investigate the relationship between the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection in families of H. pyloriinfected children and some environmental, behavioural and clinical risk factors. Methods. The family members (n = 100) of 32 H. pylori-infected children were assessed for active H. pylori infection by 13C-urea breath test or stool antigen test (HpSA) and interviewed in order to collect information about their living conditions (social status, crowding), household uses (bed sharing, tasting child food with the same piece of cutlery, sharing the tooth-brush), and clinical history of gastrointestinal diseases. Results. 46% of family members was H. pylori-infected, being positive 18/32 mothers (56.2%), 10/30 fathers (33.3%) and 16/35 siblings (45.7%). In 23 families (72%) of H. pylori-infected children there was at least one infected member. Only 4.3% of these families did not show potentially at risk behaviours in comparison with 33.4% of H. pylori-uninfected families. The percentage of infected subjects in the families with at risk behaviours was significantly higher of that observed in the other families (81.8% vs. 25%; p = 0.0001). Also significant was the difference of Hp-infected subjects in the families where the mother was H. pylori-infected in comparison with families with a negative mother (73.6% vs. 43.5%; p < 0.01). The prevalence of infection in the families was not associated with reported vomiting or regurgitation from H. pylori-infected children or parents, or with the presence of H. pylori in the oral samples of children (eight cases). Conclusion. Intrafamilial spreading of Helicobacter pylori infection is strictly related to household behaviours and the mother could represent an important source of infection.