Campylobacter enteritis associated with foodborne transmission

Area of Science:

• Infectious Disease Epidemiology
• Bacteriology
• Public Health

Background:

• Gastrointestinal illness outbreaks pose significant public health challenges, particularly in communal settings like summer camps.
• Campylobacter jejuni is a common bacterial cause of foodborne illness, necessitating investigations into transmission routes during outbreaks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify the etiologic agent responsible for a gastrointestinal illness outbreak at a boys summer camp.
• To investigate potential sources and transmission dynamics of the identified pathogen within the camp population.

Main Methods:

• Case-control study comparing ill persons and controls to identify risk factors.
• Bacteriological isolation of Campylobacter jejuni from stool samples.
• Serological testing using indirect fluorescent antibody assay to confirm isolate identity.
• Analysis of illness clusters and association with specific food items and events.

Main Results:

• Campylobacter jejuni was significantly associated with illness (P < 0.001).
• Illness clusters correlated with birthday parties, with cake consumption being a significant risk factor (p = 0.0002, p = 0.019).
• Campylobacter was isolated from the hands of a staff member who prepared salad, suggesting a potential secondary transmission route.

Conclusions:

• Campylobacter jejuni was the primary cause of the gastrointestinal outbreak.
• Contaminated birthday cake icing and potentially contaminated salad prepared by an infected staff member were likely sources of infection.
• Erythromycin treatment effectively cleared Campylobacter from carriers.