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Food Safety Works Colorado State University Extension
SafeFood Rapid Response Network

SAFEFOOD NEWS - Winter 2000 - Vol 4 / No. 2

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Campylobacter #1 Culprit

If you asked the public which pathogen was responsible for the majority of cases of foodborne illness, you would most likely hear Salmonella or E.coli mentioned and not Campylobacter jejuni. Rarely do you see headlines that mention C. jejuni as the culprit of a foodborne illness outbreak, partly because most C. jejuni infections are sporadic and not associated with an outbreak.

It is believed that C. jejuni may cause over 4 million cases of bacterial diarrhea in the U.S. each year. C. jejuni can contaminate raw meat and poultry, raw milk, and non-chlorinated water. Properly cooking meat and poultry, pasteurizing milk and chlorinating drinking water will kill the bacteria.

Consuming as little as 500 Campylobacter cells can cause campylobacteriosis. Symptoms of the infection may vary among individuals but usually include: fever, headache, muscle pain, diarrhea, stomach pain and nausea. Symptoms usually occur within 2 to 10 days after ingesting the bacteria. As with other foodborne illnesses, those with under-developed or weakened immune systems are more susceptible to potential complications from C. jejuni. The illness tends to last 7-10 days, but approximately 25% of the cases experience a relapse. Most cases are self-limiting. Complica-tions include reactive arthritis, hemolytic uremic syndrome, septicemia, meningitis, recurrent colitis, acute cholecystitis and Guillain-Barre syndrome. Guillain-Barre syndrome is the most common cause of acute paralysis in children and adults.

Not only are we beginning to identify strains of Salmonella that are resistant to antibiotics, but this also appears to be true with Campylobacter. Campylobacter infections resistant to fluro-quinolones have been on the increase since 1992. It is thought that the use of antibiotics in U.S. poultry is a contributor to this antibiotic resistance.

You may have heard some talk about a vaccine. A group of Navy, Army and drug industry researchers are trying to develop a vaccine for Campylobacter. While the team is making good headway, it may take several years before the public has access to a vaccine for C. jejuni.

Sources: 1) FSIS Backgrounder on Campylobacter, November, 1997. 2) U.S. FDA, Bad Bug Book, Campylobacter jejuni. 3) U.S. FDA, FDA Consumer, September-October 1999.

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Updated Monday, August 29, 2011