Research Article CODEN: IJPNL6 ERADICATION FAILURE OF HELICOBACTER PYLORI IS RELATED TO THE NATIONALITY OF THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES RESIDENTS IN AL AIN

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is the main cause of gastritis, peptic ulcer, gastric cancer and MALT-lymphoma. H. pylori eradication has been shown to have a prophylactic effect against gastric cancer. However, the most challenging point in eradicating H. pylori is the antibiotic resistance. In the United Arab Emirates, eradication of H. pylori is based on a triple therapy regimen comprising a proton pump inhibitor and two antibiotic drugs. The aim of our study is to evaluate the eradication rate of H. pylori using this therapy regimen in infected patients (n=1000) from Hospitals and Medical centers in al Ain, United Arab Emirates during 2012. Analysis of the results using the Urea Breath Test shows a 15 % eradication failure. Interestingly, Sudanese resident patients in al Ain seem to have the highest eradication failure while Filipino residents patients have a 100 % eradication success. Further studies are needed to explore the antibiotic resistance of H. pylori in the United Arab Emirates in order to cure the peptic ulcer and to avoid the progression of the infection to severe carcinogenic disease such as gastric cancer and MALT lymphoma