About 40 years ago, the widely held belief was that bacteria could not survive in the highly acidic environment of the human stomach and therefore could not be the cause of stomach inflammation (gastritis) or ulcers. This erroneous belief was disproven quite dramatically by two Australian doctors, one of whom drank a bacterial culture, infecting himself and becoming ill to prove that Helicobacter Pylori (H.Plyori) can indeed cause gastritis. For their work, they were awarded the Nobel Prize (thank goodness!)
Having this knowledge, doctors now routinely do various tests for H. Plyori when patients complain of chronic stomach upset, abdominal pain or indigestion. Some common tests are a breath test or a stomach biopsy, as you can see above. The Pathology lab will then typically use a special stain so that the Pathologist can better visualize the bacteria. A positive result is then reported to the Gastroenterologist who will then treat the patient with antibiotics.
In the image above, we used a Giemsa stain to show H.Plyori which appear as very tiny helical shaped or spiral rods (red arrows) which are dark blue to black in this stain. The bacteria are nestled on the surface of the stomach lining or mucosa. For reference, the stomach mucosa cells are columnar shaped, have a cigar-shaped nucleus (n) and contain clear mucin (m) in their cytoplasm.
Although a high percentage of people worldwide are infected with H.Pylori, only a small number of them will have symptoms. The problem with Helicobacter Plylori gastritis is that it can become chronic, resulting persistent severe inflammation, atrophy of the stomach glands and ulcers as well as increased risk of stomach cancer and lymphoma. This is why it is very important to diagnose and treat Helicobacter Pylori Gastritis.
Dr Culton MD