Campylobacteriosis

by National Institute of Health

Campylobacteriosis is an infectious disease caused by eating or handling contaminated food or drinking contaminated beverages. Health care providers report more than 10,000 cases to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) yearly, of which about 100 people die. It occurs more frequently in summer than winter.

Infectious diseases spread through food or beverages are a common, distressing, and sometimes life-threatening problem for millions of people in the United States and around the world. CDC estimates 76 million people suffer foodborne illnesses each year in the United States, accounting for 325,000 hospitalizations and more than 5,000 deaths.

Foodborne disease is extremely costly. Health experts estimate that the yearly cost of all foodborne diseases in this country is 5 to 6 billion dollars in direct medical expenses and lost productivity.

There are more than 250 known foodborne diseases. They can be caused by bacteria, viruses, or parasites. Natural and manufactured chemicals in food products also can make people sick. Some diseases are caused by toxins (poisons) from the disease-causing microbe (germ), others by the human body's reactions to the microbe itself.

To better understand the epidemiology (study of disease origin and spread) of foodborne diseases in the United States, 10 states across the country are collecting annual data on the occurrence of new cases of the most common causes of bacterial and parasitic infections through the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network, a CDC-sponsored program known as FoodNet (www.cdc.gov/foodnet).

Recently, public health, agriculture, and environmental officials have expressed growing concern about keeping the nation's food and water supply safe from terrorist acts. A number of U.S. agencies, including the National Institutes of Health, CDC, Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, are studying this bioterrorism threat.

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. Rarely, some people have convulsions with fever or meningitis (inflammation of the lining of the spinal cord).

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 and water that isn't chlorinated or boiled.
• Wash hands after handling pet feces or visiting petting zoos.

Complications

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.

R

search

Basic research is helping scientists to better understand how pathogens spread by contaminated food or water cause disease in humans. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)-supported researchers are studying the bacterial genes that help pathogens establish themselves in the human body and cause disease. For example, scientists have identified genes that appear to be involved in signaling certain immune system cells to cause inflammation and may contribute to the development of diarrhea.

Other NIAID-sponsored research focuses on methods by which the organism grows and interacts in host cells. Scientists have discovered that some intestinal bacteria recognize when they are in a human host and respond by activating a particular set of powerful genes that enable the organism to live in the host and cause disease. Future studies will define new ways to intervene, whether by prevention or treatment, in the disease process.

In addition to the genomic studies mentioned above, scientists have determined the complete genome (group of genes) sequences for Salmonella typhi, S. typhimurium, and C. jejuni. Sequencing studies are underway for Shigella, Yersinia, as well as other harmful strains of E. coli. Scientists hope this new information will speed the discovery of new targets for treatments and vaccines against foodborne pathogens.

Food and Waterborne Diseases Integrated Research Network

NIAID supports the Food and Waterborne Diseases Integrated Research Network to conduct multidisciplinary research and facilitate the development of products to rapidly identify, prevent, and treat food and waterborne diseases that threaten public health. The Network includes immunology, microbiology, zoonoses, and clinical research units.

About the Author

NIH is the nation's medical research agency - making important medical discoveries that improve health and save lives. The National Institutes of Health (NIH), a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the primary Federal agency for conducting and supporting medical research.