H. pylori in Japan
Another great find taken directly from Terrie’s Take email newsletter:
As the news article, which appeared in this week’s Daily Yomiuri, says, a study led by the Kyoto University of Medicine has found that there may be a strong link between the high incidence of stomach cancer in Japanese and the fact that 50% of Japanese people are infected by a stomach-based bacteria called Helicobacter pylori. The bacteria, which can be spread through cockroach droppings, are believed to cause ulcers which can eventually lead to stomach cancer. If you eat at ramen shops and other places that don’t clean their eating surfaces regularly, you may have been exposed.
More about H. pylori at www.helico.com
November 25th, 2002 at 9:04 am
From looking at the very informative Helicobacter Foundation website, it looks like there are two existing diagnosis techniques:
- the Carbon-14 Urea Breath Test, which involves swallowing a small radioactive pill. The patient then blows into a balloon, and the sample is analyzed. It takes about 10 minutes (when conducted on-site), and costs between $50-100.
- the Carbon-13 Urea Breath Test, which does not involve measuring radioactivity. A breath sample is collected and measured using a mass spectrometer. The test takes about 30 minutes, and costs around $100.
The market in Japan for a diagnostic device seems high if the 50% number is correct, but a displacement technology will have to show superior benefits to win adoption. Is the process more accurate, or the device less expensive?