Gastrointestinal infections: Campylobacter jejuni
At a glance
- Organism: Campylobacter jejuni (also C. coli) - curved, motile, gram‑negative rods; commonest bacterial cause of foodborne gastroenteritis in the UK (GOV.UK).
- Transmission: faeco‑oral - undercooked/contaminated poultry, unpasteurised milk, contaminated water and kitchen cross‑contamination.
- Incubation: typically 2-5 days (range commonly 1-11 days).
- Typical course: self‑limited diarrhoeal illness lasting around 1 week.
- Typical features: watery diarrhoea that often becomes bloody, abdominal cramps, fever, malaise and headache.
- Important complications: Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), reactive arthritis; bacteremia is uncommon but more likely in neonates, elderly and immunocompromised (GOV.UK).
Epidemiology and pathogenesis
- Campylobacter spp. are a leading cause of bacterial gastroenteritis in developed countries and a frequent cause of travellers’ diarrhoea.
- Pathology is driven by mucosal invasion and intestinal inflammation, producing inflammatory (often bloody) diarrhoea.
- Bacteremia is rare outside high‑risk groups (neonates, elderly, immunocompromised).
Clinical presentation
History
- Diarrhoea: initially watery, often progressing to bloody.
- Abdominal cramps/colicky pain.