Abstract

CAVA, Felipe  and  COBAS, Guillermo. Two decades of Helicobacter pylori. Vaccimonitor [online]. 2003, vol.12, n.1, pp.1-10. ISSN 1025-028X.

Bacterial diseases are generally considered as serious sanitary problems. However, they can often be eradicated by using an antibiotic therapy. The healing of fungal and viral diseases is much more complicated. Many cancers can be cured if there is an early diagnosis, but the treatment of most of them is almost as harmful as the disease itself. Other diseases, such as the autoimmune and heart diseases are simply controlled by trying to palliate the symptoms with very expensive medicine. That’s why we must understand the astonishment of the medical community when a disease, long time considered incurable, although controllable, was found to be caused by a bacterium. This was even more so, because the stomach’s environment was considered too extreme to harbor any microbial life. Helicobacter pylori is the main agent of ulcer formation in the world population. Its colonization capacity and adaptability to hostile environments have allowed it to survive and grow in the harsh conditions of the stomach. In this review we briefly examine important aspects of the history of the discovery of such a relevant microorganism, as well as some molecular and clinical features of the pathology it produces.

Keywords : Helicobacter pylori; pathogenesis; infection.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )