Campylobacter

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Key points

  • Campylobacter continues to be a major public health problem.

  • Infection with Campylobacter causes a spectrum of diseases, including acute enteritis, extraintestinal infections, and postinfectious complications.

  • The gastrointestinal tracts of domestic and wild birds and animals are the main reservoirs for Campylobacter.

  • The most common species of Campylobacter associated with human illness are Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli, but other Campylobacter species also can cause human

Campylobacter taxonomy

The Campylobacter genus consists of a large and diverse group of bacteria currently comprising 26 species (http://www.bacterio.cict.fr/c/campylobacter.html). Table 1 highlights the known sources and human disease associations with each species. Although C jejuni and Campylobacter coli cause most human infections, 15 additional species have been detected or isolated from humans.1 Current methods routinely used in clinical and public health laboratories were developed for and are biased toward

Campylobacter disease manifestation

Campylobacter infections cause a spectrum of diseases, including acute enteritis, extraintestinal infections (eg, bacteremia, abscess, meningitis) and postinfectious complications. Campylobacter generally causes a self-limited clinical illness that lasts 5 to 7 days; the infection resolves without antimicrobial treatment in the great majority of cases but 5% to 10% of patients relapse after their initial illness.5 Symptoms of infection typically begin 2 to 5 days after ingesting the bacteria

Campylobacter epidemiology

Campylobacter is the most common cause of diarrheal illness in the United States, estimated to cause 1.3 million illnesses, 13,240 hospitalizations, and 119 deaths each year.10 The incidence for 10 US sentinel sites (Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network, FoodNet) in 2014 was 13.7 per 100,000 people, which represents a statistically significant decline from the 2006–2008 baseline.11 The highest incidence of infection is among persons younger than 5 years, although incidence among

Self-assessment

  • 1

    Which of the following statements is true regarding Campylobacter organism or infection?

    • a.

      Outbreaks of Campylobacter infections are common.

    • b.

      Secondary transmission is common during a Campylobacter outbreak.

    • c.

      Poultry is the most common food associated with Campylobacter outbreaks.

    • d.

      Only C jejuni and C coli cause human disease.

    • e.

      There are 26 species within the Campylobacter genus.

  • 2.

    Which of the following statements is true regarding Campylobacter?

    • a.

      Campylobacter is a gram-positive organism.

    • b.

      C jejuni grows

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  • Cited by (113)

    • Prevalence of Campylobacter species and associated risk factors for contamination of dairy products collected in a dry season from major milk sheds in Ethiopia

      2023, Food Microbiology
      Citation Excerpt :

      C. jejuni is responsible for the majority of campylobacteriosis cases and C. coli is the second most common cause of human campylobacteriosis (Lambert and Hogan, 2009; Hsieh and Sulaiman, 2018). These species are recognized as a cause of gastroenteritis that can result in severe abdominal pain, fever, nausea, headache, muscle pain, and diarrhea (Fitzgerald, 2015; El-Zamkan and Hameed, 2016a). Furthermore, infections with Campylobacter can cause Guillain-Barré syndrome with symptoms of muscle weakening or paralysis (Jackson et al., 2011; El-Zamkan and Hameed, 2016b).

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