Fish Microbiology and Quality Assurance

Unit 5 - Foodborne pathogens

5.8. Foodborne gastroenteritis caused by Campylobacter
Characters

• Campylobacter are represented by the species C. jejuni and C. coli are the major causative agents of bacterial gastroenteritis in humans worldwide.
  
• These are Gram negative curved rods, motile with single polar flagella at one or both ends.
• C. jejuni is associated with intestinal tract of warm-blooded animals and is often present in foods of animal origin through fecal contamination during processing.
  
• Foods of animal origin including milk and clams have been implicated in cases of food poisoning.
  
• This organism is unable to grow well and survive outside the animal host’s environment, but ingestion of very low numbers can cause human illness.
• C. jejuni is microaerophilic aorganism requiring low levels of oxygen for growth. Growth is inhibited at oxygen concentration of less than 3% and more than 10-5%, with best growth at 5%. It grows within a narrow temperature of 30- 47^oC with optimum temperature of 42-45^oC, survives refrigerator temperature and is sensitive to freezing temperatures.
• Campylobacter are invasive and highly virulent requiring ingestion of only a few cells to cause illness.
  
• Though the actual mechanism of pathogenicity is not clearly understood, they are known to produce heat sensitive enterotoxins.

Symptoms of illness

• Campylobacter infections occurs due to the consumption of foods of animal origin and contaminated milk, bakery products, clams and water.
  
• Symptoms of illness include abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, cramps, diarrhoea, headache, fever and occasional bloody stools.
• The onset of illness varies from 1 to 10 days, and illness may persist for from 1 day to few weeks but most recover within a week.
• Campylobacter enteritis is self limiting in most cases and resolve within few days of onset of symptoms.

Prevention of outbreak

• Proper cooking of food prior to consumption.
• Preventing cross contamination from raw meats to cooked foods.
• Chilling food rapidly.
• Following good sanitary measures while handling and processing of foods.