Campylobacter jejuni of Food Poisoning Infections

 

 

6.  Campylobacter jejuni

 

Campylobacter is commonly implicated in outbreaks involving predominantly children. The vehicle for transmission is usually raw or imperfectly pasteurized milk, and sometimes water. Isolation of the organism from poultry has been described frequently and infection occurs probably through the cross contamination from raw to cooked material. There may also be direct infection from the raw material to the food handler. The unusual conditions required to grow the organism have hindered its isolation and delayed epidemiological investigations. Person-to-person spread has been demonstrated and thus the dose level to initiate symptoms may be small.

       The onset of symptoms may be sudden with abdominal cramps followed by passage of foul-smelling stools. Blood and mucus may be present and the diarrhoea may persist for 1-3 days. A prodrome consisting of fever, headache, and dizziness may occur and this may last for a few hours to several days. The abdominal pain may persist once the diarrhoea has eased and symptoms may be more severe in adults than children. The incubation period is probably 3-5 days with a fairly wide range. Pet dogs and cats may be affected at the same time.

 

 

7.  Vibrio parahaemolyticus

 

V.  parahaemolyticus are reported to be responsible for 50% of food-poisoning incidents in Japan. In the warmer weather, it can be isolated from fish, shellfish, and other seafoods. Both raw and cooked seafoods such as shrimps, crabs, and lobsters are vehicles of infection. Cooked foods may be contaminated by the raw products in kitchens. Food poisoning following dinner parties with prawns on the menu are common. The illness resembles a mild form of cholera with an average incubation period of 15 hours. There is a rapid onset of symptoms with profuse diarrhoea often leading to dehydration, some vomiting , and fever. There is acute abdominal pain. The illness usually lasts 2-5 days. There are many serotypes.

 

 

8.  Aeromonas hydrophilia

 

Reports of outbreaks of A. Hydrophilia infections have come from India and Ethiopia. The organism was isolated from patients with diarrhoea. Long term surveys of diarrhoea in children and adults in the USA indicate both A. Hydrophilia and A. Sobria play significant roles. Water, milk, and seafoods were considered to be basic sources of the organism.