Helicobacter pylori Infection in Desert Storm Troops

• Published in: Clinical infectious diseases Vol. 25; no. 5; pp. 979 - 982
• Main Authors: Taylor, David N., Sanchez, José L., Smoak, Bonnie L., DeFraites, Robert
• Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: Chicago, IL The University of Chicago Press 01-11-1997; University of Chicago Press
• Subjects: Adult; Antibodies; Antibodies, Bacterial - blood; Bacterial diseases; Bacterial diseases of the digestive system and abdomen; Biological and medical sciences; Continental Population Groups; Diarrhea; Diseases; Epidemiology; Female; Helicobacter Infections - blood; Helicobacter Infections - epidemiology; Helicobacter Infections - immunology; Helicobacter pylori; Helicobacter pylori - immunology; Helicobacter pylori - isolation & purification; Human bacterial diseases; Humans; Immunoglobulin G - blood; Infections; Infectious diseases; Male; Medical sciences; Middle East; Military operations; Military Personnel; Second International Workshop on Helicobacter pylori Infections in the Developing World; Soldiers; Tropical medicine; Warfare; White people; Middle East; Human; Spirillales; Spirillaceae; Exploration; War; Serology; Epidemiology; Incidence; Infection; Campylobacter infection; Symptomatology; Helicobacter pylori; Risk factor; Bacteriosis; Bacteria; Military
• ISSN: 1058-4838; 1537-6591
• DOI: 10.1086/516074

To determine whether military personnel deployed outside the United States are at increased risk of Helicobacter pylori infection, we evaluated U.S. Army personnel who served in the Persian Gulf from August 1990 to April 1991. Of 204 subjects from whom paired predeployment and postdeployment serum specimens were obtained, 76 (37%) were seropositive for IgG antibody to H. pylori before deployment by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Of the 111 initially seronegative subjects evaluated before and after a 7.5-month deployment, five (4.5%) seroconverted. The calculated annual seroconversion rate was 7.3%. In a postdeployment questionnaire, 62% of soldiers reported an episode of diarrhea while deployed, but there was not an increased rate of diarrhea or upper gastrointestinal symptoms in soldiers who were infected before deployment or in those who seroconverted. These data suggest that the risk of H. pylori infection increases during long-term deployment and that acute infection is not distinguishable from other gastrointestinal illnesses encountered during deployment.