Campylobacteriosis

2006-09-14T06:57:00.000-07:00

Campyobacteriosis is an infection of the intestines that is caused by bacteria called campylobacter jejuni. The bacteria is commonly found in the feces of infected people && animals. The infected person(s) may have mild symptoms or no symptoms at all. The symptoms usually will occur anywhere from one to ten days after exposure, but usually within three to five days you will begin to notice some symptoms that you may have Camplylobacteriosis.
Some of the symptoms that the person(s) may suffer from are as listed below:
Ø Mild to severe diarrhea (may be bloody)
Ø Stomach cramps
Ø Fever (can be high)
Ø Vomiting
Ø Convulsions (in severe cases)

People can get this infection by eating contaminated food, drinking contaminated water, or by drinking unpasteurized milk. The bacterium is normally found in poorly or undercooked meat and poultry. They also can get it from infected pets, especially little kittens and puppies with diarrhea, or you could get it from handling wild animals. Also, it can be spread from one bacteria infected person to another. The bacteria can be spread from one person to another when the stool leaves the body and enters another person when the hands that are contaminated with stool enter another person(s) mouth. The infected person or animal is contagious as long as the bacteria remains in the stool which can be anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of weeks.
The disease can be diagnosed from a stool sample. There really is no treatment for this illness, but if you have a severe case you can have an antibiotic prescribed to try to speed up the recovery.
You can prevent this from happening to you if you wash your hands when you leave the restroom, and make sure that everyone else does the same (especially the contaminated person.) by washing your hands before and after the preparation of a meal, and by washing your hands well after touching raw meat and poultry. You can also prevent this illness by not eating/drinking unpasteurized milk or anything containing this specific ingredient. By cooking all meats thoroughly, and washing all fruits and vegetables before eating them, and by washing your hands after handling animals and their wastes you can prevent camplyobacteriosis from occurring.