Campylobacter

Campylobacter bacteria cause campylobacteriosis, the most common type of bacterial food poisoning among humans¹. There are several species of Campylobacter which can infect humans, but most disease cases are caused by the species Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli.

Mechanism of transmission: Foodborne – Campylobacter infections mainly occur by eating raw or undercooked poultry, meat, or seafood, or by drinking contaminated water

Number of cases: every year around 1 in 10 people are infected worldwide¹

Campylobacteriosis

Campylobacteriosis is also known as bacterial gastroenteritis or food poisoning. It is a diarrhoeal disease, with symptoms including bloody diarrhoea, abdominal pain, fever, and nausea and vomiting. Campylobacter infections are generally mild, and people usually recover within a short period of time. However, it can cause severe disease, serious long-term complications, and can even result in death among vulnerable populations such as very young children, the elderly, or those with a weakened immune system.

Campylobacter in food

Campylobacter species are widely found in the gut of animals and birds, and are especially prevalent in livestock (food animals) such as cows and chickens. Campylobacter usually does not cause disease in these animals.

Campylobacter can contaminate food and water in several ways:

Meat – during slaughter when it is accidentally transferred from the gut or from faeces to edible parts of the animal
Milk – if it present in the cow’s udder, or if the milk is contaminated with manure
Fruit and vegetables – through contact with contaminated soil or water
Water – untreated drinking water and water from lakes or streams may be contaminated with faeces which contain Campylobacter cells

Campylobacter is found fairly commonly in some types of food: for example, 56% of chickens from UK retailers in 2017 were contaminated with Campylobacter²! Properly cooking meat/poultry and washing all fruit/vegetables carefully are effective methods of eliminating Campylobacter, and are strongly recommended by the World Health Organisation to prevent infections.

Genomics and Campylobacter

Campylobacter infections are very common and cause significant morbidity (suffering due to a disease) worldwide every year. Campylobacteriosis also has a high economic burden, costing up to £50 million annually in the UK alone³. Understanding Campylobacter is therefore critical in order to control and reduce incidence of disease. Genomic data can be used to study disease-causing Campylobacter throughout the food chain – from wild animals, to livestock, to people – in order to better understand factors such as the incidence and prevalence, evolution, and virulence of Campylobacter.

If you are keen to know more about Campylobacter, these websites are good places to go for more information: