Campylobacter jejuni

It is a major cause of diarrhea. Infection is acquired from pets such as dogs, cattle etc or from contaminated food such as unpasteurized milk, poultry and meat. It is a comma shaped or “S” shaped organism with peculiar cultural characteristics such as being microaerophilic, growing well at a specific temperature of 42 degree C.

Enterotoxin similar in effect to Cholera toxin is secreted which contributes to pathogenicity. It causes an invasive diarrhea with fever, abdominal cramps and loose, bloody stools. Infection may be followed, in very few cases, by Guillain Barre Syndrome or Reiter’s Syndrome. Culture shows Gram negative, motile, oxidase positive bacilli.