Campylobacter Watch

Subscribe to Campylobacter Watch via RSS

To: National and State Desks
Contact: Sean Crowley, 202-478-6128 or 202-550-6524 (cell) or scrowley@mrss.com, for Keeping Antibiotics Working
WASHINGTON, June 9 /U.S. Newswire/ — The U.S. House of Representatives last night passed a measure to ban the federal school lunch program from purchasing poultry treated with Cipro-like antibiotics because this use promotes spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria that cause severe food poisoning. The amendment to the Fiscal Year 2006 Agriculture appropriations bill, offered by U.S. Rep. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), is similar to an amendment offered by U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) that the Senate passed in November 2003 as part of the Fiscal Year 2004 Agriculture appropriations bill. Similar state bills that would ban state school lunch programs from buying chickens treated with Cipro-like antibiotics were introduced earlier this year in Ohio by State Sen. Robert F. Hagan (D-Youngstown, Ohio) and in Maine by State Sen. Scott Cowger (D-Kennebec, Maine).Continue Reading House Passes Rep. Sherrod Brown’s Amendment to Ban School Lunch Program from Buying Chicken Treated with Cipro-like Antibiotic; Cipro’s Effectiveness Compromised

For more information see:
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.1 (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.1 Undoubtedly, many more cases go undiagnosed and unreported, and estimates are that Campylobacter causes 2-4 million cases per year in the United States.4Continue Reading What is Campylobacter jejuni?

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 6, 2005
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Contact with animals in public settings, such as at fairs and petting zoos, can be fun and educational. However, it also can lead to the transmission of various serious infectious diseases, especially among children.
“This is the season for petting zoos, county fairs and other events where people come in contact with animals and we want to remind everyone that simple prevention steps, such as hand washing, can reduce the risk of illness,” said Dr. Eric E. Whitaker, state public health director. “In fact, hand washing is the single most important step for reducing the risk for disease transmission.”Continue Reading WASH HANDS AFTER CONTACT WITH ANIMALS TO PREVENT DISEASE

Drinking water found to be likely Camp Yamhill disease source
From foodconsumer
B.iological A.gents
By Philip Berger – Oregon Department of Health Services/Public Health
June 3, 2005
DHS news release
State and local public health officials have identified water contamination as the likely source of last week’s disease outbreak at Camp Yamhill in Yamhill County, which sickened more than 50 people.
Mel Kohn, M.D., state epidemiologist in the Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS), said the camp’s water treatment system, which draws water from the North Yamhill River, may have been overwhelmed by surface water run-off caused by recent heavy rainfall.
Kohn said it appears that more than one bacterial contaminant was in the water.
“The laboratory has confirmed cases of both E.coli O157 and Campylobacter, both of which cause diarrhea,” Kohn said. “Those who were infected suffered varying degrees of illness, but we are glad to say that most have recovered.”Continue Reading E. coli O157, religious camp – USA

By Sharon Durham
May 23, 2005
Reducing the pathogenic bacterium Campylobacter on poultry farms and in processing plants begins with finding its sources, one of which is the birds’ lungs, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists report.
Microbiologists Mark Berrang and Richard Meinersmann and animal physiologist Richard J. Buhr at the ARS Richard B. Russell Agricultural Research Center in Athens, Ga., studied Campylobacter before and after chicken carcasses were scalded to remove feathers, an integral step in poultry processing.
Bacteria can contaminate live chickens during production or transport, or carcasses during scalding. In either case, Campylobacter would contaminate respiratory air sacs and could then contaminate the abdominal cavity.Continue Reading Finding the Source of Campylobacter

May 12, 2005
According to recently published research in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology, “The goal of the present study was to assess the contribution of real-time molecular typing, used alone or with clinical surveillance, to the prompt identification of clusters of Campylobacter enteritis.
“Potential poultry sources were sought by comparing the pulsed-field gel electrophoresis genotypes of human and fresh whole retail chicken isolates collected during the same study period.”
“Among 183 human isolates, 82 (45%) had unique genotypes, 72 (39%) represented 26 clusters of 2 to 7 isolates each, and 29 (16%) represented three clusters of 8 to 11 isolates each.Continue Reading Sources other than chickens important in human campylobacteriosis

Antimicrobial resistance in bacteria is an emerging and increasing threat to human health. Physicians should be aware that antimicrobial resistance is increasing in foodborne pathogens and that patients who are prescribed antibiotics are at increased risk for acquiring antimicrobial resistant foodborne infections. In addition, “[i]increased frequency of treatment failures for acute illiness and increased severity of infection may be manifested by prolonged duration of illness, increased frequency of bloodstream infections, increased hospitalization or increased mortality.”[1]
The use of antimicrobial agents in the feed of food animals is estimated by the FDA to be over 100 million pounds per year. Estimates range from 36% to 70% of all antibiotics produced in the United Sates are used in a food animal feed or in prophylactic treatment to prevent animal disease. The use in of antibiotics is thought to promote growth and to prevent disease on in beef, pig, turkey and chicken production as well as fish farms and some fruit and vegetable farming.[2]Continue Reading Antimicrobial Resistance in Bacteria

With media attention on product recalls due to potential contamination with such bacteria and viruses as E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella, and hepatitis A and outbreaks of illnesses caused by these pathogens comes consumers’ need to know about foodborne pathogens. Marler Clark, the Seattle law firm that has represented thousands of victims of foodborne illness outbreaks across the country, re-launched its Web site about foodborne illness, www.foodborneillness.com, in mid-April.
(PRWEB) May 3, 2005 — Foodborne illnesses, such as E. coli, Salmonella, Listeria, and Hepatitis A, have been the topic of news reports across the nation in recent months. With media attention on product recalls and outbreaks comes consumers’ need to know about foodborne pathogens. Marler Clark, the Seattle law firm that has represented thousands of victims of foodborne illness outbreaks across the country, re-launched its Web site about foodborne illness, www.foodborneillness.com, in mid-April.Continue Reading Foodborne Illness Web Site Offers Resources on Common Causes of Food Poisoning

Diarrhea is the most consistent and prominent manifestation of campylobacter infection. It is often bloody.5 Typical symptoms of C. jejuni infection also include fever, nausea, and vomiting, abdominal pain, headache, and muscle pain. A majority of cases are mild and do not require hospitalization and may be self-limited. However, Campylobacter jejuni infection can be severe…

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.1 (Salmonella is the second most common cause).
Most cases Campylobacter infection occur as isolated, sporadic events, not as…