The present study aimed to investigate the incidence of the bacterium Helicobacter spp. in cats from Recife, Pernambuco State, Brazil. Stomach samples were collected from 119 cats, without distinction between race or age, the breakdown by sex being 56 males and 63 females. The urease quick test and histopathological examination using both hematoxilin-eosin (HE) and Giemsa stain were performed. The urease quick test showed positive results for Helicobacter in 82.35% of the samples. The histopathology revealed an alteration in 59.66% (71/119) of the samples, such as lymphoplasmocitic infiltration with a lymphoid foliculum, microabscess, necrosis, and hypotrophy, while in 40.34% of the samples (48/119) no alterations were observed. It was concluded that the cats from the city of Recife, State of Pernambuco, Brazil, presented a high incidence of infection with Helicobacter spp. Diffuse infiltrate of lymphocytes cells was the most frequent histopathological change observed in the gastric mucosa of cats infected with Helicobacter spp.
Helicobacteriosis; urease; gastritis; bacterium; cats