Helicobacter pylori

Helicobacter pylori is a Eubacterium that infects the mucus lining of the human stomach. Many peptic ulcers and some types of gastritis are caused by H. pylori infection, although most humans who are infected will never develop symptoms. This bacterium lives in the human stomach exclusively and is the only known organism that can thrive in that highly acidic environment. It is helix-shaped (hence the name helicobacter) and can literally screw itself into the stomach lining to colonize.

External links

• The Helicobacter Foundation provides information on Helicobacter pylori and its effects - founded by Dr. Barry J. Marshall, one of the discoverers of H. Pylori
• European Helicobacter Study Group sponsors annual international workshop, yearbook, and clinical guidelines
• The Year in Helicobacter pylori 2004 Helicobacter journal August 2004 - Free Content on line
• Atwood KC. Bacteria, Ulcers, and Ostracism?: H. Pylori and the Making of a Myth. Skeptical Inquirer November 2004. Fulltext Claims that medicine?s purported ostracism of the discovery of H. pylori has achieved a mythological quality, but isn't true: after appropriate initial scientific skepticism, the hypothesis was accepted right "on schedule".
• Pylori Gene, giving the genome sequences of various strains
• Microscopic image of Helicobacter pylori
• The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2005
• List of species in the genus Helicobacter