Approximately twenty five years ago, Dr. Barry J. Marshall and Dr. J. Robin Warren of Perth, Western Australia, discovered helicobacter pylori bacteria in the stomachs of patients with gastritis and peptic ulcers. This discovery disproved the commonly accepted belief that no bacteria could live in the stomach due to the stomach’s extensive production of acid. Dr. Warren and Dr. Marshall then essentially rewrote the book regarding the causes and treatment of gastritis and stomach ulcers, eventually being awarded the 2005 Nobel Prize for Medicine and Physiology.
Although met with skepticism at first, numerous research groups verified the doctors’ findings and verified the association between H. pylori bacteria, gastritis and peptic ulcer disease (PUD). In 1994, the National Institutes of Health (USA) published an opinion stating that most recurrent duodenal and gastric ulcers were in fact caused by helicobacter pylori and recommended that antibiotics should be used as treatment, regardless of whether this was the initial ulcer or recurrence. With that statement, the management of peptic ulcer disease was significantly changed.
The discovery of the Helicobacter pylori bacteria has led to a course of treatment and ultimately to a cure for millions of individuals suffering from gastritis and stomach ulcers.
For more information about how the BreathID breath test system is used to detect Helicobacter pylori at the point-of-care, please watch a short film on Urea Breath Tests or contact a company representative by completing the contact form.