The Prevalence of Helicobacter spp. in Licensed Experimental Animal Facilities in Aegean Region, Turkey.

Colon and stool samples were collected from a total of 200 animals, 10 mice, 10 rats and 10 gerbils, from separate cages randomly selected between the ages of 15-22 weeks from each of the 11 licensed experimental animal facilities.From the DNA obtained, Helicobacter spp. 16S ribosomal RNA gene was determined by PCR method, and positive samples were determined by Multiplex PCR.The prevalence of Helicobacter spp. in mice was 90.91%.According to the species-based PCR results of the positive samples, the most common species was H. rodentium with a prevalence of 90.91%. In the study in which H. bilis and H. muridarum species were not detected in any facility, it was determined that H. typhlonius was the second most common species with a prevalence rate of 72.73%, followed by H. hepaticus with a prevalence of 27.27%. The prevalence of Helicobacter spp. in rats was 87.5%. According to the PCR results of the positive samples, the most common species was H. rodentium with a prevalence of 87.5%.In the study where H. bilis, H. hepaticus and H. muridarum species were not detected in any facility, H. typhlonius was the second common species with a prevalence of 12.5% in rats. On the other hand, only H. rodentium and H. typhlonius were detected in the colon samples taken from a single facility containing gerbils. It was determined that Helicobacter spp., which causes infections in experimental animals, especially subclinical, is quite common in the study area. It is recommended that the Experimental Animal facilities moniterize for this agent.