A cancer-causing stomach bacteria is infecting fewer people in China – but that could change
- Researchers had thought Helicobacter pylori was present in about half the country’s population but a new study cites a much lower rate
- Team also finds worrying levels of resistance to antibiotics used to treat the infections
A cancer-causing group of bacteria is much less prevalent in China’s urban population than previously thought, according to a study published in The Lancet Microbe journal this month.
Researchers had thought that around half the people in China were infected with the bacteria but a study led by Gu Bing of Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital, put the infection rate at just over 27 per cent.
The team based their assessment on data collected from 26 provinces from March to November last year.
In an interview with mainland news outlet Yicai on March 10, Gu said the lower prevalence could be the result of many factors, including improvements in living standards, healthier lifestyles and public health education.
Just last year, a group of scientists, mainly from the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine at the University of Hong Kong, suggested that about half of China’s population was infected with the bacteria.