The first report of Campylobacter is believed to have been made in 1886 by Theodore Escherich, who observed and described a non-culturable spiral shaped bacterium, which he found in the colon of children with an enteric disease called “cholera infantum”.
Campylobacter was identified February 2, 1906 by two British veterinarians, John McFadyean and Stewart Stockman who reported the presence of “large numbers of a peculiar organisms” in Loeffler’s blue-stained smears of uterine mucus from a pregnant ewe.
Campylobacter lives in the intestines of birds (specifically poultry) and other animals. They are commonly found in the intestinal tracts of cats, dogs, poultry, cattle, swine, rodents, monkeys, wild birds, and some humans. The bacteria pass through the body in the feces and cycle through the environment. It can be found in water, food, soil, or surfaces that have been contaminated with the feces of infected humans or animals.
Infection caused by Campylobacter bacteria is called campylobacteriosis and is usually caused by consuming unpasteurized milk, raw or undercooked meat or poultry, or other contaminated food and water, and contact with feces from infected animals.
Symptoms of campylobacteriosis include diarrhea, stomach cramps, abdominal pain, and fever. Symptoms usually begin 2 to 5 days after being exposed to the bacteria.
Campylobacter foodborne illness
