EXPRESS: Colonization of Helicobacter Species and Associated Gastritis in Cats with Gastrointestinal disease: a Cross-Sectional Study on 154 Cases.

Helicobacter colonization is common in cats with GI disease and is associated with lymphoplasmacytic gastritis.

This prospective cross-sectional study enrolled 154 privately owned cats with confirmed chronic gastrointestinal disease between May 2018 and December 2022 to evaluate the prevalence of gastric Helicobacter species colonization and its association with histopathological gastric changes. All cats underwent full-thickness gastric and small intestinal biopsies. Of the 154 cats included, 79% had inflammatory enteropathy and 21% had intestinal lymphoma. Helicobacter species were detected in 75% of cats, with mixed-species colonization being common. Helicobacter heilmannii was the most frequently identified species, confirmed via nanopore sequencing in a subset of positive samples. Gastritis was present in 58% of cats, occurring at similar frequencies across both disease categories. Importantly, the presence of Helicobacter species was significantly associated with lymphoplasmacytic gastritis; however, bacterial colonization density did not correlate with gastritis severity. The study is limited by the absence of a healthy control group, precluding causal inference between Helicobacter colonization and gastric inflammation. These findings suggest that Helicobacter colonization is highly prevalent in cats presenting with gastrointestinal signs and is associated with chronic lymphoplasmacytic gastritis, though its pathogenic role remains unclear. Clinicians should consider Helicobacter species as a common concurrent finding in cats with chronic gastrointestinal disease, while recognizing that colonization alone may not be sufficient to explain clinical or histopathological severity.

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