Good to know. I had an one or more ulcers about 10 years ago (1997) that were caused by the h.pylori.

The problem was intermittent (mild pains on the far left side of my abdomen that went away when I ate something or used something like Tums). Thought it was just caused by being hungry. I went to a doctor who casually prescribed something for stomach acid (now an OTC drug). But after 6 months, when this drug didn't help, I went to another doctor who ordered up a barium drink and x-ray, where they found the ulcers. If I remember correctly, the ulcers were actually in the esophagus where it connected to the top of the stomach. They didn't insert anything to grab some samples for a biopsy, so I don't remember how they decided the ulcers were caused by h.pylori. Maybe guessed?

Anyway, meds were prescribed for killing h.pylori. Took them, recovered in about one month and haven't had any problems since.

I suspect that there are a lot of people/doctors who believe they have acid reflux/heartburn but really have ulcers caused by the bacteria. I heard that there was a simple breath test for spotting h.pylori bacteria under development but don't know if this ever became reality.