Forty Years of Helicobacter pylori: The African Perspective

Abstract

Background: Helicobacter pylori colonises 50% of the world population and is a causative agent of gastritis, peptic ulcer disease, mucosa associate lymphoid tissue lymphoma and gastric cancer.

Summary: In Africa, the prevalence rate has been found to be the highest in comparison to other parts of the world. Despite its high prevalence there are low rates of gastric cancer recorded in Africa. This African perspective gives an insight into the history of H. pylori in Africa and also examines the issue of the so-called "African Enigma," it's diagnosis and treatment and where we are now.

Key messages: Our vision is to have an African community that is free from H. pylori infections and complications. To this end, the African Helicobacter and Microbiota Study Group was initiated in 2021 and launched on the June 27, 2022 in Lagos, Nigeria (<ext-link ext-link-type="uri" xlink:href="https://ahmsg-africa.org/" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">https://ahmsg-africa.org/</ext-link>). The African perspective includes the need for more detailed information on actual community and hospital prevalence, resistance data, and standardizing processes and algorithms to enable comparative diagnosis and therapy of H. pylori infections using a multi-pronged approach with international support.

Keywords: African enigma; African perspective; Diagnosis; Gastric cancer; Helicobacter pylori; Prevalence.