Helicobacter suis is a species within the Helicobactergenus of Gram negative bacteria. Helicobacter pylori is by far the best known Helicobacter species primarily because humans infected with it may develop gastrointestinal tract diseases such as stomach inflammation, stomach ulcers, doudenal ulcers, stomach cancers of the non-lymphoma type, and various subtypes of extranodal marginal zone lymphomass, e.g. those of the stomach, small intestines, large intestines, and rectumn. H. pylori is also associated with the development of bile duct cancer and has been associated with a wide range of other diseases although its role in the development of many of these other diseases requires further study. Humans infected with H. suis may develop some of the same gastrointestinal diseases viz., stomach inflammation, stomach ulcers, duodenum ulcers, stomach cancers that are not lymphomas, and extrnodal marginal B cell lymphomas of the stomach. Other non-H. pylori Helicobacter species that are known to be associated with these gastrointestinal diseases are Helicobacter bizzozeronii, Helicobacter salomonis, Helicobacter felis, and Helicobacter heilmannii s.s. Because of their disease associations, these four Helicobacter species plusH. suis are often group together and termed Helicobacter heilmannii sensu lato. H. suis bacteria are detected in the stomachs of their natural hosts viz., pigs and non-human primates. Reports suggest that individuals, including children, are infected with this bacterium by having close contact with infected pigs or by eating raw pork taken form infected pigs : H. heilmanni s.l.-associated diseases, including those associated with H. suis, appear to be zoonotic diseases, i.e. infectious diseases that are caused or promoted by a pathogen that spreads from animals to humans. It is important to diagnose H. felis as well as other Helicobacter heilmannii sensu lato infections in patients with the citedupper gastrointestinal tract diseases, including in particular extranodal marginal zone lymphoma of the stomach, because some of them have been successfully treated and cured using antibiotic-based drug regimens directed against the instigating bacterium.
