Original isolation of Campylobacter pyloridis from human gastric mucosa

During April and May 1982, in the Department of Microbiology at Royal Perth Hospital, Western Australia, campylobacter-like organisms were cultured from eleven gastric mucosa biopsy specimens. Most isolates did not appear before 3 days incubation, and grew at 37° C but not at 42° C. They grew best in a humidified atmosphere in a carbon dioxide incubator containing 8% carbon dioxide, and died rapidly in air. In contrast to current concepts of Campylobacter, the organisms had multiple polar flagella, but it is now known that other Campylobacter species can also exhibit this feature . Analyses in England and Australia have shown that two isolates have a DNA base composition of 36-37 mol % guanosine plus cytosine. This is in the Campylobacter range. We propose the name Campylobacter pyloridis sp. nov. and the strain Royal Perth Hospital 13487 has been designated as the type strain and has been deposited in the National Collection of Type Cultures in London (NCTC 11637) . In our study of one hundred gastroscopy specimens, the campylobacter-like organisms were seen histologically in the mucosa of 95% of forty patients with active gastritis, in 87% of thirty one patients with peptic ulcers, and in only 6% of thirty one apparently healthy mucosal specimens.