The study evaluated the antibiotic resistance patterns of
Helicobacter pylori
strains against metronidazole and
clarithromycin in a hospital in Havana, Cuba. Eighty-five percent, 22.5%, and 10% of 40
H. pylori strains
investigated were resistant to metronidazole, ciprofloxacin, and clarithromycin respectively but all were
susceptible to amoxicillin and tetracycline. RdxA truncation was found only in metronidazole-resistant
strains. In such strains, reported are eight and two novel mutations in the rdxA and frxA genes respectively.
Two-point mutations in the
23S rRNA genes of clarithromycin-resistant strains were detected. A high prevalence
of metronidazole resistance was found in Cuban
H. pylori strains. Mutations in the
rdxA gene may
contribute more significantly than
frxA gene to the high level of resistance to metronidazole. This study
supports the need to continue monitoring the antibiotic susceptibility in
H. pylori in Cuba to guide the
treatment of such infection.
