Campylobacter Blog - Surveillance & analysis on Campylobacter news & outbreaks

Jefferson County, Colorado, is celebrating food safety month. Jefferson County reported that in 2006 it has followed up on 118 cases of foodborne illness, but noted that:

It is likely that many more went unreported. Most cases of food-borne illness can be prevented with proper food handling and preparation procedures such as regular handwashing and cooking and cooling to proper temperatures.

This is what the Health Department reported so far:

51 cases of Salmonella

56 cases of Campylobacter

5 cases of E. coli O157:H7

and 6 cases of hepatitis A

From www.about-campylobacter.com

Campylobacter jejuni (Pronounced "camp-e-low-back-ter j-june-eye") was not recognized as a cause of human foodborne illness prior to 1975. Now, the bacterial organism is known to be the most common cause of bacterial foodborne illness in the U.S.  (Salmonella is the second most common cause).

Most cases Campylobacter infection occur as isolated, sporadic events, not as a part of the large outbreaks. Even though surveillance is very limited, over 10,000 cases are reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) each year. Active surveillance for cases indicates that over 17 cases for each 100,000 persons in the population (or about 46,000 cases) are diagnosed yearly. Undoubtedly, many more cases go undiagnosed and unreported, and estimates are that Campylobacter causes 2-4 million cases per year in the United States.

Campylobacteriosis occurs more frequently in the summer months than in the winter. Although Campylobacter doesn't commonly cause death, it has been estimated that 100 persons with Campylobacter infections die each year from the infection. Recently, the CDC reported that Campylobacter infections related to raw or uncooked poultry fell by 28%.

1. Name of the Organism:

    Campylobacter jejuni (formerly known as Campylobacter fetus subsp. jejuni) Campylobacter jejuni is a Gram-negative slender, curved, and motile rod. It is a microaerophilic organism, which means it has a requirement for reduced levels of oxygen. It is relatively fragile, and sensitive to environmental stresses (e.g., 21% oxygen, drying, heating, disinfectants, acidic conditions). Because of its microaerophilic characteristics the organism requires 3 to 5% oxygen and 2 to 10% carbon dioxide for optimal growth conditions. This bacterium is now recognized as an important enteric pathogen. Before 1972, when methods were developed for its isolation from feces, it was believed to be primarily an animal pathogen causing abortion and enteritis in sheep and cattle. Surveys have shown that C. jejuni is the leading cause of bacterial diarrheal illness in the United States. It causes more disease than Shigella spp. and Salmonella spp. combined.

    Although C. jejuni is not carried by healthy individuals in the United States or Europe, it is often isolated from healthy cattle, chickens, birds and even flies. It is sometimes present in non-chlorinated water sources such as streams and ponds.

    Because the pathogenic mechanisms of C. jejuni are still being studied, it is difficult to differentiate pathogenic from nonpathogenic strains. However, it appears that many of the chicken isolates are pathogens

By David Hunt and Bob Stiles TRIBUNE-REVIEW
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, August 27, 2006

At least six of Jeannette's 32 bars and restaurants have been deemed clean enough to serve food and drinks this year -- even though an inspector didn't set foot in any of them.

The cash-strapped city lost its health inspector last September. City Clerk Ron Dinsmore said in July that he was forced to rubber-stamp the licenses for the six businesses so they could meet state liquor-license requirements and stay open.

"I'm concerned because there are some we've had problems with, but most we haven't. Most of them are very good," he said. "I extended them only because of the fact that they needed them extended."

Six of 67 counties in Pennsylvania handle restaurant inspections through county health departments, but Westmoreland isn't one of them. County officials say they aren't interested in developing a program to monitor health conditions in the county's more than 1,500 restaurants even if other programs aren't working.

"We're not looking to expand the mission of county government. We've got enough on our plate, enough financial challenges already," said Commissioner Chairman Tom Balya.