zoonoses and communicable diseases common to ... - PAHO/WHO

CAMPYLOBACTERIOSISICD-10 A04.5 campylobacter enteritisThe genus Campylobacter (heretofore Vibrio) contains several species of importancefor both public and animal health. The principal pathogenic species are C.jejuni and C. fetus subsp. fetus (previously subsp. intestinalis) and C. fetus subsp.venerealis. Occasionally C. coli, C. laridis, and C. upsaliensis cause enteritis in manand animals. These bacteria are gram-negative, microaerophilic, thermophilic, catalasepositive (with the exception of C. upsaliensis), and have a curved or spiral shape.The importance of campylobacteriosis as a diarrheal disease became evidentwhen better knowledge was gained about its requirements for culture and isolation,particularly oxygen pressure (strictly microaerophilic) and an optimum temperatureof 42°C (thermophilic).Increased medical interest since 1977 in enteritis caused by C. jejuni and theenormous bibliography on this new zoonosis make it advisable to discuss this diseaseseparately from those caused by C. fetus and its two subspecies. Furthermore,the disease caused by C. jejuni and those caused by C. fetus are clinically different.Synonym: Vibrionic enteritis.1. Enteritis caused by Campylobacter jejuniEtiology: Campylobacter jejuni and occasionally C. coli. Two principal schemeshave been proposed for serotyping C. jejuni. The scheme proposed by Penner usessomatic antigens and includes 60 serotypes, which are identified using the passivehemagglutination method (Penner and Hennessy, 1980; McMyne et al., 1982). Thescheme proposed by Lior uses a flaggelar antigen and identifies 90 serotypes withthe slide plate agglutination method (Lior, 1982). Patton et al. (1985) compare bothschemes in 1,405 isolates of human, animal, and environmental origin, and find that