Resistance to antibiotics used for treating H. Pylori infections has more than doubled in 20 years, a European conference has heard.
Research presented to delegates at the United Europe Gastroenterology (UEG) Week Barcelona 2019 last night (20 October 2019), has been described as “concerning”.
The study analysed 1,232 patients from 18 European countries, investigating resistance to antibiotics regularly taken for Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection.
The researchers found that resistance to clarithromycin had increased from 9.9% in 1998 to 21.6% in 2018. Increases in resistance for levofloxacin and metronidazole were also recorded.
Professor Francis Megraud, of the University of Bordeaux, France, who led the study, said: “H. pylori infection is already a complex condition to treat, requiring a combination of medications. With resistance rates to commonly used antibiotics such as clarithromycin increasing at an alarming rate of nearly 1% per year, treatment options for H. pylori will become progressively limited and ineffective if novel treatment strategies remain undeveloped.
“The reduced efficacy of current therapies could maintain the high incidence rates of gastric cancer and other conditions such as peptic ulcer disease, if drug resistance continues to increase at this pace."
The survey also found that the rates of primary clarithromycin resistance in H. pylori were highest in Southern Italy (39.9%), Croatia (34.6%) and Greece (30%), attributed to the overconsumption of antibiotics for conditions including cold and flu, and a lack of institutional support for antibiotic resistance containment strategies.
Mário Dinis-Ribeiro, president of the European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, said: "The findings of this study are certainly concerning, as H. pylori is the main cause of peptic disease and gastric cancer.
“The increasing resistance of H. pylori to a number of commonly-used antibiotics may jeopardise prevention strategies.”
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