Helicobacter Pyroli Infection in Patients With Gastro Intestinal Infections Obtaining Care at A District Hospital in Southern Province of Rwanda

Helicobacter pylori infection affects 50% of the world's population, with over 70% in developing countries. In Rwanda, 78% of patients with gastric cancer had H. pylori infection however studies estimating its prevalence based on stool antigen test are lacking. This study aims to determine the prevalence and factors associated with H. pylori infection among patients with clinical diagnosis of gastrointestinal infection at Kigeme District Hospital, Rwanda.  This study used a cross-sectional study design with quantitative approach involving 257 participants and they were selected using simple random sampling method. Selected participants were given structured open questionnaire developed using kobo tool box then data collected were exported in excel sheet, cleaned and entered in SPSS version 21 for further analysis. The study used descriptive statistics and bivariate analysis to examine the association between dependent and independent variables, with variables with p-values below 0.05 considered significantly associated with helicobacter pylori infection. This study revealed that, the prevalence of helicobacter pylori was 19% while family history of H. pylori infection (AOR = 2.268, 95% CI: 1.6–3.43, p = 0.001), eating in restaurant (AOR = 32.83, 95% CI: 13.9–77.5, p = 0.024), consumption of raw or uncooked food (AOR = 130.4, 95% CI: 15.09–112, p = 0.001) were strongly associated with helicobacter pylori. On the other hand, consumption of spicy food(AOR = 0.149, 95% CI: 0.055–0.407, p = 0.001),A access to clean drinking water (AOR = 0.118, 95% CI: 0.045–0.308, p = 0.002), good hand hygiene practices(AOR = 0.247, p = 0.003) and washing hands after using the toilet (AOR = 0.056, p = 0.012),having a pit latrine with a slab(AOR = 0.137, p = 0.017) were protective to helicobacter pylori  infection. In contrast, gender was not significantly associated with H. pylori infection (AOR = 1.423, 95% CI: 0.739–2.740, p = 0.292), indicating no substantial difference between males and females. This study concluded that family history, restaurant eating, and raw/undercooked food are associated with helicobacter pylori infection, while access to clean water, good hand hygiene, and pit latrine with slab are protective. Keywords: Helicobacter, Pyroli Infection, Patients, Gastro Intestinal Infections, Southern Province of Rwanda