Selenomonas may puzzle the diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori in gastric mucosa

Selenomonas species are Gram-negative curved rods that morphologically resemble Campylobacter spp. and Helicobacter spp. The major differences between Selenomonas spp., Campylobacter spp. and Helicobacter spp. are shown in Table 1. Selenomonas spp. are natural inhabitants of the stomachs (rumen) of cattle [1]. They have occasionally been isolated from the human oral cavity, but have not been associated with human disease [2]. In the following, the isolation of a Selenomonas spp. from the gastric mucosa of a patient with peptic ulcer is reported.