ABSTRACT

This chapter provides state-of-the-art overviews on foodborne diseases caused by Helicobacter in relation to their etiology, biology, epidemiology, clinical presentation, pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. Helicobacter pylori was first discovered by Warren and Marshall as hitherto unidentified gram-negative bacillus from patients with chronic active gastritis and initially named Campylobacter pyloridis, since this flagellated microorganism thrives under microaerophilic condition. The Helicobacter genus currently contains more than 50 species including gastric and enterohepatic helicobacters, and differs from the genera Campylobacter and Wolinella by the presence of flagellar sheath and bulb, glycocalyx, urease and catalase, and other biochemical characteristics. The genus Helicobacter belongs to the family Helicobacteraceae, order Campylobacterales, class Epsilonproteobacteria, phylum Proteobacteria, and domain Bacteria. A substantial number of enterohepatic helicobacters have been also described in human diseases. Gastric Helicobacter species reside in the highly acidic gastric environment and express urease as much as 10% of all the protein to neutralize microenvironment.