• Hyasinta Jaka, Martha F Mushi, Mariam M Mirambo, Leonard Wilson, Jeremiah Seni, Majigo Mtebe, and Stephen E Mshana.
• Department of Internal medicine, Weill Bugando School of Medicine, P.O.Box 1464, Mwanza, Tanzania.
• Afr Health Sci. 2016 Sep 1; 16 (3): 684-689.

BackgroundPrevalence of H.pylori infection varies greatly between populations in different countries. This study was conducted to determine the magnitude of H.pylori among adult patients with dyspepsia attending the gastroenterology unit at Bugando medical centre.MethodsA cross sectional study involving 202 dyspeptic patients was conducted between June and July 2014. A Standardized data collection tool was used to collect socio-demographic characteristics. H.pylori antibodies were detected using rapid immunochromatographic tests according to manufacturer's instructions.ResultsThe median age of study population was 42 (IQR: 33-54). Females 105 (51.9%) formed majority of the population studied. Of 202 participants; 119 (58.9%) were from rural areas. Seroprevalence of H.pylori infection was found to be 79/202 (39.1%, 95% CI: 32.3-45.7). As the age increased the risk of having H.pylori infection also increased (OR: 1.02 95% CI: 1-1.04, P=0.02). On multivariate logistic regression analysis untreated drinking water was found to predict H.pylori seropositivity (OR: 2.33, CI: 1.09-4.96, p=0.028).ConclusionThe seroprevalence of H.pylori among dyspeptic patients is high in this setting. Therefore the community in Mwanza should be educated on the use of safe drinking water in order to minimize H. pylori infections.

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