Experimental infection of stray cats with human isolates of Helicobacter pylori

Abstract

To improve our understanding of Helicobacter infection in cats and to determine whether they are reservoirs for H. pylori and sources of zoonotic transmission to humans, we selected cats as an experimental animal model for gastric colonization by H. pylori. Sixteen stray cats underwent Helicobacter eradication treatment followed by three consecutive oral inoculations of a cocktail of human H. pylori isolates. Four out of sixteen inoculated cats became colonized by H. pylori as confirmed by genus- and species-specific PCR. In conclusion, human H. pylori isolates are able to colonize the stomach of cats. It seems that the stray cat can be used as an experimental model in the future investigations of H. pylori -induced pathogenesis as well as evaluation of anti- H. pylori prevention and treatment regimens. Further experimental studies using more animals are needed to identify the usefulness of the cat as an experimental model.