Campylobacter and Food Poisoning
It has only been since the 1970s that Campylobacter has been recognized as a cause of food poisoning. Campylobacter is now known to be one of the leading causes of food poisoning. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Campylobacter (campylobacteriosis) may cause over 1 million people to become ill each year. Unlike Norovirus, which is the other leading cause of food poisoning in the United States, Campylobacter cases are not part of large outbreaks, but occur as isolated, sporatic events.
Below is an excerpt form an article that appeared in the FDA Consumer in 1999. It is a good introduction to Campylobacter.
Campylobacter: Low-Profile Bug Is Food Poisoning Leader
by Audrey Hingley
When it comes to food poisoning, big outbreaks make headlines. E. coli in apple juice and alfalfa sprouts. Listeria in cheese and hot dogs. Salmonella in eggs and on poultry. But the most frequently diagnosed food-borne bacterium rarely makes the news. The name of the unsung bug? Campylobacter.
"Most Campylobacter infections are sporadic and not associated with an outbreak, but we know it causes up to 4 million human infections a year," says Frederick J. Angulo, D.V.M., an epidemiologist with the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Federal and state health experts have long recognized that Campylobacter causes disease in animals. Conclusive proof that the bacteria also causes human disease emerged in the 1970s, and by 1996, Campylobacter was sitting atop the bacterial heap as the number one cause of all domestic food-borne illness.
Campylobacter is commonly found in the intestinal tracts of people or animals without causing any symptoms of illness. But eating contaminated or undercooked poultry or meat, or drinking raw milk or contaminated water, may cause Campylobacter infection, or campylobacteriosis.
Symptoms of campylobacteriosis usually occur within two to 10 days of ingesting the bacteria. Children, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems are particularly at risk. The most common symptoms include mild to severe diarrhea, fever, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain.
Most people infected with Campylobacter can get well on their own without treatment, though antibiotics may be prescribed for severe cases. But complications can occur, such as urinary tract infections or meningitis. The bacteria also is now recognized as a major contributing factor to Guillain-Barré syndrome, the most common cause of acute paralysis in both children and adults.