[Helicobacter pylori: antibodies in sera of pigs and calves]

64 sera of pigs and 22 sera of calves were investigated in a Helicobacter pylori-ELISA. The test system was validated with positive and negative reference sera. In contrast to other investigations it was tried to exclude false positive results by absorbing the sera with Wolinella succinogenes, Campylobacter jejuni subsp.jejuni, E. coli and Proteus mirabilis. This proved to be necessary, as the extinctions of some sera were reduced considerably. Using this technique sera of 5 pigs and 6 calves could be identified, which fulfilled the following criteria: 1. The extinctions were statistically significant above the mean value of the corresponding group after absorption with Campylobacter jejuni subsp.jejuni. 2. After absorbing the sera of pigs with 3 and the sera of calves with 4 bacteria the extinctions were above 50% of that of the human positive serum. 3. The extinctions of these sera were-like the positive reference sera-nearly not influenced by the absorption. These results indicate the presence of serum antibodies in pigs and calves, which react with epitops from Helicobacter pylori.