Dangerous stomach germs often cause diffuse upper abdominal complaints

Germ Helicobacter pylori can cause regular upper abdominal discomfort

The germ Helicobacter pylori is very common. "In the western industrialized countries, 25 to 40 percent of the population are infected," writes the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) in a bulletin. In Germany, about 20 to 30 million people are infected with the germ. In addition to recurring pain in the upper abdomen, the germ can also be a trigger for gastritis or gastrointestinal bleeding. According to the Center for Cancer Registry Data, Helicobacter pylori still causes eight out of ten gastric cancers worldwide.

Most people become infected in childhood through close contact with carriers of the germ. Presumably most transmissions of the bacteria take place within the families in the first years of life. The figures for distribution in Germany vary between 21 percent for the Greater Hannover area to 44 percent for Saxony-Anhalt. In children, the germ is less common than in adults. An infection usually leads to a lifelong survival of the pathogen. Physician prescribed therapy can remove the bacterium from a majority of patients.

The bacterium Helicobacter pylori is very common and can cause many diseases, such as gastritis, gastric ulcers and even stomach cancer. (Image: fotoliaxrender / fotolia.com)

What diseases can the germ trigger?

The most common disease that Helicobacter pylori can cause is chronic gastritis. Part of the patients develop gastroduodenal ulcer disease, ie a mucosal defect in the stomach or duodenum. In less than one percent of infected people, the bacterium causes gastric cancer. Another rare complication is the occurrence of MALT lymphoma, a tumor of the lymphatic system that occurs in mucous membranes.

How can the germ be removed??

In about one fifth of those infected, symptoms or complications requiring treatment may be expected during the course of the infection. That's about four to six million people in Germany. The national S3 guideline "Helicobacter pylori and gastroduodenal ulcer disease" of the German Society for Digestive and Metabolic Diseases (DGVS) recommends an eradication therapy for these diseases. Although Helicobacter pylori is sensitive to most antibiotics, treatment is not easy. For one, the effectiveness of drugs in the gastric mucosa is limited. On the other hand, the treatment with only one drug is unsuitable because there are increasingly resistance problems. In addition, the therapy must guarantee a complete eradication of the bacterium.

Falling new infections

The Center for Cancer Registry Data sees the declining distribution of the bacterium Helicobacter pylori as one of the main reasons for the declining incidence and mortality rates of gastric cancer in Germany and also in other parts of the world. Possible reasons for the decline in this infection are improvements in living conditions and hygiene conditions in infants and toddlers. (Fp)