Helicobacter Forums

Hello
Thank you operating this forum, it’s been a mine of information for me over the past year. My problem is rather unusual as both my dog and I have both suffered from heliobacter. I was diagnosed with H pylori the last year after many months of very uncomfortable symptoms that my GP couldn’t identify. I finally did a private stool test which came back positive. I went through triple therapy for 7 days and my follow up stool test 5 weeks later came back negative. However, it took over 3 months to get rid of all the residual symptoms.

I was treated in August 2022 by by October 2023 my young boarder terrier started vomiting and stopped eating, he was very unwell . Despite the vet doing standard stool tests for Salmonella, campylobacter and Giadia ( all of which he has had in the past ), nothing showed up . I then requested a heliobacter stool test and it was positive. Now, from my understanding from the vet and lab a dogs stool sample cannot confirm the type of heliobacter only that he had a heliobacter. So I am still unsure which type he had .

He went through triple therapy and improved a lot, but then we did a repeat stool test 5 weeks later and he came back positive again ! This time we also tested my other dog and my daughters dogs and her friends dogs . They all came back positive. My other dog Daisy, then developed acute pancreatitis which was attributed to heliobacter by the vet . They all then had 3 weeks of triple therapy.
After Christmas we re tested 3 of the dogs again from the group, and also Bertie ( my boarder terrier) had an endoscope and samples sent off to Liverpool university lab for testing . Bertie came back negative and so did his stool sample, however the university lab did see evidence of haemorrhaging in the tissue sample . However 2 of the other dogs tested came back positive again ! The vet was shocked and so was I , however, we figured that as dogs were well, the positive 2 dogs may have heliobacter but not a strain that would make them ill. So back we went on watch and wait in January.

Nothing unremarkable happened until 2 weeks ago when Bertie started intermittent vomiting in the morning and stopped eating . Immediately we did stool samples and await those results. 2 others from the original group of 6 have also had vomiting episodes in the past few weeks . My husband is now feeling unwell, with stomach cramps, headaches and low level flu like symptoms…….we do a stool test for him tomorrow.

So sorry for the long post, but I do hope that someone out there may know of a drug combination that might clear this in our doggie community, as it’s heartbreaking to see them so poorly . My other question is there anywhere in the Uk that can do stool sample analysis for dogs and isolate the type of heliobacter so we could at least identify what we are dealing with here and which antibiotics the strain maybe sensitive to ?

As to where we got it from ….. I have no idea, I had an appendectomy 2 years ago but and if I caught in in hospital surely I would have shown symptoms much faster than a 10 month gap between operation and symptoms.

Thank you once again for your great work and such a very helpful forum .

Thanks for sharing this very interesting story.
first of all, glad to hear that you cleared your HP with ease.

As for your dog, I personally don't think it's practical to get rid of the helicobacter spp.
dogs and other pets are not like humans, where we care for our own hygiene. We brush our teeth and don't go around licking other animals. So your dog keeps getting reinfection is totally under my expectation.

So, knowing that animals can carry Helicobacter spp. You should avoid sharing food or kissing your pets.

Thank you for your swift reply @helico-expert, it really is appreciated.

I have probably not given you the full picture of our circumstances here. We live on a rural estate, so my dogs don’t mix with a outside dogs only the ones that live on our estate, hence testing all the immediate animals and then treating them all at the same time with triple therapy. None of the dogs mix with any outside dogs.

The dogs do not run free on their own and are trained not to eat or drink anything outside of the house. I can appreciate that dogs are certainly not as hygienic as humans and that if one of the group remained infected after the triple treatment, then the potential is there for reinfecting the whole group.

My problem is that this constant merry go round of giving antibiotics is not ideal and it would appear that a couple of the dogs did not clear the infection in spite of triple therapy. Hence my quest to try and find a testing laboratory for animals that can test stool samples and isolate the strain of heliobacter in the Uk ? At least then we could find the best antibiotic for the job and isolate the dogs and treat the infections . Total elimination should be possible in such a small group and in turn prevent the infection of humans?

Do dogs get infected H Pylori ?

Dogs have their own kind of Helicobacter species - H. canine.
Although it's rare for H. canine to jump host to human, it's not impossible.

knowing from human, H. pylori can quickly develop antibiotic resistance, I assume that the H. canine can too develop resistance after a few treatment.
because you cannot stop the animals getting reinfection, trying newer and stronger antibiotics each time will only encourage the bacteria to become harder to treat.
It would be a terrible thing if the superbug jumped from animals to human.

Thank you again for replying @Helico-expert.

I understand your comments regarding antibiotics resistance, can I ask if H canine is restricted to the same form of transmission as HP, for example does it pass via saliva only or can it be transmitted by eating grass etc ? Does it also survive outside of the stomach ?

Bert has just tested positive for heliobacter, although we dont know which strain he has. The 4 dogs on the estate are now exhibiting symptoms to more or lesser extent , regurgitating bile, malaise, stretching stomach and intermittent undigested stools. Bert does not want to eat at all, but we are managing to get some food into him later in the day . We are destroying all stools as we are not sure if the heliobacter can survive in stools ?

My questions are because it would be good to understand the method of transmission and how the bacteria survives, as it may give us some clue how to eradicate it between the 4 dogs .

Thank you very much for taking the time to answer my questions .

I would assume it is possible for dogs (and other animals) to transmit Helicobacter via saliva or stools.

based on our understanding of human helicobacter, the bacteria does not survive well outside the host's stomach. So it is probably difficult to get it from grass. But dog is likely to sniff around and licking the area where other dogs done their "business". So it is possible to catch it by licking contaminated area.

Thank you Helico-expert, I really appreciate you taking the time to reply.

I will update our journey sometime in the future with hopefully some better news !

By the way how do we make a donation, as the link doesn’t work when you press it ?

Thank you for recognising our contribution.
The donation button should work.
alternatively, you can donate to the Marshall Centre at University of Western Australia.

https://giving.uwa.edu.au/marshall-centre

Persistent H. pylori infections can be challenging to manage, but with comprehensive and coordinated care for both humans and pets, it’s possible to achieve better outcomes. Collaborate closely with your healthcare providers and veterinary specialists to tailor a treatment and prevention plan that addresses the specific needs of your household. Wordle Unlimited

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