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Helicobacter pylori-Specific Immune Responses of Children: Implications for Future Vaccination Strategy

Department of Epidemiology, University of Ulm, Ulm,¹ Baden-Württemberg State Health Office, Stuttgart,² Department of Epidemiology, German Centre for Research on Ageing, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany³

Received 17 December 2001/ Returned for modification 21 March 2002/ Accepted 17 May 2002

We analyzed the specific anti-Helicobacter pylori immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody profile for a sample of 824 asymptomatic schoolchildren in southern Germany (mean age, 10.7 ± 0.65 years) with an H. pylori-specific IgG enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Western blot analysis. The prevalence of infection was 19.8% (95% confidence interval, 17.1 to 22.7%). The immunoresponses were characterized predominantly by antibodies against low-molecular-mass antigens of 14 and 29 kDa, with a significant difference between children of German and Turkish nationalities (P = 0.0012 and P < 0.0001, respectively).