[RESISTANCE OF HELICOBACTER PYLORI TO ANTIBIOTICS IN ISRAEL: PAST VS PRESENT].

Helicobacter Pylori (H. Pylori) is a spiral shaped Gram-negative bacterium which is known to cause chronic gastric inflammation (gastritis) that could develop into a gastric or duodenal ulcer. The standard first line therapy for H. Pylori infection is a 7-14 days period of "triple therapy" consisting of proton pump inhibitors (PPI) and the antibiotics clarithromycin and amoxicillin or metronidazole. Recently there has been an increase in H. Pylori resistance to antibiotic treatment. Throughout the years 1999, 2002, 2010, 2013 and 2014 studies have been conducted in Israel that examined H. Pylori resistance rates for commonly used antibiotics. These studies included 40-138 participants who were diagnosed with infection caused by H. Pylori. Based on information derived from these studies, there is a clear increase in H. Pylori resistance to antibiotics, particularly to tetracycline, amoxicillin and clarithromycin.