Gastrospirillum hominis and human chronic gastritis.

Gastrospirillum hominis, a new spiral bacterium, was found in the gastric mucosa of two patients with antral chronic gastritis. These 2 cases originated from a series of 2781 consecutive gastric biopsies observed over a period of five years, with a prevalence of 0.072%. Dogs and cats may be responsible for transmission to humans but in our experience no contact with pets was documented. Detection of these organisms might provide new insight into the pathogenesis of human gastritis.