Correlation between H. Pylori and Cytomegalovirus in Adults.

Background: The majority of research has concentrated on H. pylori alone, ignoring the positive or negative interactions with other pathogenic microbes. A common herpesvirus that infects 40% to 70% of the general population is cytomegalovirus (CMV). So, the aim of this study was to find this possible correlation. Materials and Methods: This research was conducted in Babylon, Iraq, from January to March, 2022. A total of 90 people suspected with H. pylori as abdominal pain, nausea, loss of appetite, and bloating. These persons were engaged in this study divided to two groups as IgG positive H pylori (positive group) and IgG negative H pylori (negative group). Antibody screening assays on blood samples were used to look for antibodies against H. pylori. IgG antibody titer in blood samples for CMV was detected by mini vidas biomerieux. One‑way ANOVA, independent T, and Chi‑square tests were used to examine the data using SPSS 23 software. Results: The CMV titer was significantly different between negative group 52.41 ± 24.107 and positive group 70.39 ± 29.048 (P = 0.002) with positive significant correlation was found at the 0.01 level (r = 0.323; P = 0.003) between these two groups regarding CMV. Males (63.16%) were more infected with H. pylori compared to females (38.5%). Thus, the gender of males considered as a risk factor regarding this infection at odds ratio 2.74 (95% CI: 1.15‑6.5; P = 0.032). Whereas, no significant difference between males 61 ± 23.85 and females 61.35 ± 30.88 was observed regarding CMV titer. Conclusion: Males considered as a risk factor regarding H. pylori infection at odds ratio 2.74 (P = 0.002). There is strong positive correlation between infection of H. pylori and CMV (r = 0.323; P = 0.003). The question that remains to resolve if H. pylori were favor the reactivation of latent infection by CMV or vice versa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]