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Quick detection of drug-resistant H. pylori is possible now.
Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori)
A two-step PCR-based assay of a small region of the Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) bacteria can help detect H. pylori infection.
Also identify clarithromycin-resistant bacteria and those which are drug-sensitive in six-seven hours.
This is developed by a team of researchers from the National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases (ICMR-NICED), Kolkata.
Since H. pylori bacteria grow slowly, it takes about a week to culture the bacteria and a couple of more weeks to test for drug-sensitivity.
There is an increasing trend of clarithromycin-resistant H. pylori bacteria in India leading to a decreasing success rate in treating the infection.
In India, H. pylori infections affect 60-70% of the population.
H. pylori infection is often acquired during childhood and remains in the stomach throughout life.
Gastroduodenal diseases along with the detection of H. pyloriinfection, eradication of the bacteria provides the most effective treatment.
H. pylori infection is one of the robust known risk factors for gastric cancer.
The studies of H. pylori are seldom carried out in India.
The growing incidence of clarithromycin-resistant bacteria is a big concern and has to be addressed as it is the most important reason for treatment failure.
NICED turned to genome sequencing to identify that the drug resistance was due to a point mutation gene of the bacteria.
A to G mutation at 2143 position in the 23S ribosomal RNA (rRNA).
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