Campylobacter jejuni

Gram-negative, microaerophilic bacterium.

Incubation period

Illness usually occurs within 2 - 5 days after infection.

Symptoms

Include fever, abdominal pain, nausea, headache, muscle pain, and diarrhea may be bloody.

Illness Duration

Usually 2 - 10 days.

Complications

Guillain-Barre syndrome, reactive arthritis, or ulcerative colitis.

Infective dose

Fewer than 500 bacteria.

Treatments

Usually supportive care, although antibiotics may be indicated early in the diarrheal illness.

Testing

Stool cultures with special media needed.

Communicability

Communicable throughout course of infection; without antibiotic treatment individuals excrete organisms for possibly 2-7 weeks; a chronic carrier state is unusual.

Nationally Notifiable Many state health departments do track cases, but it is not a nationally notifiable disease.