Overview
Campylobacteriosis is an infectious disease caused by eating or handling contaminated food or drinking contaminated beverages. U.S. health care providers report more than 10,000 cases to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) yearly. CDC estimates 100 people die of the disease yearly.
The disease occurs more frequently in summer than winter.
Cause
Campylobacteriosis is caused by bacteria called Campylobacter. Campylobacter jejuni, C. fetus, and C. coli are the types that usually cause the disease in people.
C. jejuni causes most cases of this foodborne disease. According to CDC, C. jejuni is the leading cause of bacterial diarrheal illness in the United States, affecting about 2.4 million people every year. The bacteria cause between 5 and 14 percent of all diarrheal illness worldwide. C. jejuni primarily affects children less than 5 years old and young adults 15 to 29 years old.
Transmission
You can get infected with Campylobacter from handling raw poultry, eating undercooked poultry, drinking nonchlorinated water or raw milk, or handling infected human or animal feces. Most frequently, poultry and cattle waste are the sources of the bacteria, but feces from puppies, kittens, and birds also may be contaminated with the bacteria.
Symptoms
If you are infected with Campylobacter, you may have no symptoms. If you do, they can include
Diarrhea (often bloody)
Abdominal cramping and pain
Nausea and vomiting
Fever
Tiredness
Campylobacteriosis usually lasts for 2 to 5 days, but in some cases as long as 10 days.
Diagnosis
Your health care provider can use laboratory tests to identify Campylobacter in your stool if you are infected.
Treatment
If you are like most people infected with Campylobacter, you will get better with no special treatment. If you need treatment, your health care provider can prescribe an antibiotic such as ciprofloxacin or azithromycin.
Erythromycin helps treat diarrhea caused by Campylobacter. If you have diarrhea, be sure to drink plenty of water.
Prevention
Wash hands before preparing food.
Wash hands immediately after handling raw poultry or other meat.
Wash thoroughly with soap and hot water all food preparation surfaces and utensils that have come in contact with raw meat.
Cook poultry products to an internal temperature of 170 degrees Fahrenheit for breast meat and 180 degrees Fahrenheit for thigh meat.
Don’t drink unpasteurized milk.
Don't drink unchlorinated water that isn’t boiled.
Wash hands after handling pet feces or visiting petting zoos.
Complications
Some people with campylobacteriosis have convulsions with fever or meningitis (inflammation of the lining of the spinal cord).
Some people infected with Campylobacter develop arthritis.
A small number of people may develop Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS), the leading cause of acute paralysis in this country. This rare condition develops from 2 to 4 weeks after Campylobacter infection and usually after diarrheal symptoms have disappeared. People with GBS suffer from increasing paralysis of the limbs which lasts for several weeks. In more severe cases, they develop breathing problems requiring very long hospital stays.
Topic Courtesy of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. February 27, 2012
Campylobacteriosis is an infectious disease caused by eating or handling contaminated food or drinking contaminated beverages. U.S. health care providers report more than 10,000 cases to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) yearly. CDC estimates 100 people die of the disease yearly.
The disease occurs more frequently in summer than winter.
Cause
Campylobacteriosis is caused by bacteria called Campylobacter. Campylobacter jejuni, C. fetus, and C. coli are the types that usually cause the disease in people.
C. jejuni causes most cases of this foodborne disease. According to CDC, C. jejuni is the leading cause of bacterial diarrheal illness in the United States, affecting about 2.4 million people every year. The bacteria cause between 5 and 14 percent of all diarrheal illness worldwide. C. jejuni primarily affects children less than 5 years old and young adults 15 to 29 years old.
Transmission
You can get infected with Campylobacter from handling raw poultry, eating undercooked poultry, drinking nonchlorinated water or raw milk, or handling infected human or animal feces. Most frequently, poultry and cattle waste are the sources of the bacteria, but feces from puppies, kittens, and birds also may be contaminated with the bacteria.
Symptoms
If you are infected with Campylobacter, you may have no symptoms. If you do, they can include
Diarrhea (often bloody)
Abdominal cramping and pain
Nausea and vomiting
Fever
Tiredness
Campylobacteriosis usually lasts for 2 to 5 days, but in some cases as long as 10 days.
Diagnosis
Your health care provider can use laboratory tests to identify Campylobacter in your stool if you are infected.
Treatment
If you are like most people infected with Campylobacter, you will get better with no special treatment. If you need treatment, your health care provider can prescribe an antibiotic such as ciprofloxacin or azithromycin.
Erythromycin helps treat diarrhea caused by Campylobacter. If you have diarrhea, be sure to drink plenty of water.
Prevention
Wash hands before preparing food.
Wash hands immediately after handling raw poultry or other meat.
Wash thoroughly with soap and hot water all food preparation surfaces and utensils that have come in contact with raw meat.
Cook poultry products to an internal temperature of 170 degrees Fahrenheit for breast meat and 180 degrees Fahrenheit for thigh meat.
Don’t drink unpasteurized milk.
Don't drink unchlorinated water that isn’t boiled.
Wash hands after handling pet feces or visiting petting zoos.
Complications
Some people with campylobacteriosis have convulsions with fever or meningitis (inflammation of the lining of the spinal cord).
Some people infected with Campylobacter develop arthritis.
A small number of people may develop Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS), the leading cause of acute paralysis in this country. This rare condition develops from 2 to 4 weeks after Campylobacter infection and usually after diarrheal symptoms have disappeared. People with GBS suffer from increasing paralysis of the limbs which lasts for several weeks. In more severe cases, they develop breathing problems requiring very long hospital stays.
Topic Courtesy of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. February 27, 2012
