High Prevalence and Species Diversity of Helicobacter spp. Detected in Wild House Mice

PCR diagnostics detected 100% prevalence of Helicobacter in 425 wild house mice ( Mus musculus ) from across central Europe. Of seven species identified, the five most frequent were Helicobacter rodentium (78%), H. typhlonius (53%), H. hepaticus (41%), H. bilis (30%), and H. muridarum (1%). Double infections were more common (42%) than single (30%) and triple (21%) infections. Wild house mice could be considered potential reservoirs of Helicobacter strains for both humans and other vertebrates.