Investigation of Helicobacter pylori in raw sheep milk samples.

It is known that Helicobacter pylori is a cause of chronic gastritis and peptic ulcer disease in humans. However the origin and transmission of this bacterium has not been clearly explained. One of the suggested theories is transmission via raw milk from animals to human beings. In this study, the presence of H. pylori was investigated in sheep milk that is commonly consumed as human food. For this purpose, a total of 440 raw sheep milk samples collected from the Burdur region of Turkey were examined by specific cultural procedures, however, H. pylori was not isolated in any sample.