Helicobacter hepaticus is a recently identified species of a gram- negative, microaerophilic, urease-positive, spiral bacterium. Helicobacter hepaticus have been found to cause a chronic active hepatitis in some strains of mice but only enteric infection without clinical or histological disease in other mouse strains. Of the other Helicobacter spp. of mice, H. rappini has not been associated with lesions in mice, H. muridarum has been observed in gastric glands of mice with chronic gastritis, and H. bilis was isolated from older mice and based on 16s rRNA gene sequence analysis was named as a new organism. This new Helicobacter like H. hepaticus colonizes the bile, liver and intestine of the mice. Using the present bacterial culture technique we have been able to isolate Helicobacter hepaticus from A/JCr, DBA/2 Ncr, and C57B/6 strain of mice and a rat strain. Also, by substituting the antimouse conjugate in an ELISA test kit which is prepared to diagnose H. pylori infection in human we have been able to detect antibody to Helicobacter in mice.
