Microbiology of Helicobacter pylori.

The new genus name Helicobacter was first published in October 1989. H. pylori is a unipolar, multiflagellate, gently spiral organism found on the human gastric mucosa, but in culture and under unfavorable conditions, coccoidal forms emerge, which may be indicative of a dormant state. The biology and metabolism of H. pylori, together with growth requirements and methods of detection in clinical specimens, are described in this article. Enzymes, hemagglutinins, and antibiotic susceptibilities of H. pylori are delineated.