Campylobacter fact sheet

Campylobacter is the most common form of bacterial food poisoning in the UK. Most cases are associated with eating contaminated poultry, unpasteurised milk or drinking untreated water. Some infection has been connected to the contamination of milk by birds pecking milk bottle tops.

How is it transmitted?

The Campylobacter bacteria is found in the intestines of birds, including poultry and domestic and wild animals. It can therefore be transmitted in raw or undercooked meat or poultry, from domestic pets with diarrhoea and occasionally person to person spread if personal hygiene is poor.

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What are the symptoms?

The incubation period is from 2-5 days, the range can be 1-10 days. The illness will last 7-10 days normally. The illness may first present itself with fever, muscle pains and abdominal pains for up to 2 days before the onset of diarrhoea which may be watery at first, becoming bloody later. The diarrhoea usually ceases within a week but abdominal pains may continue for several days. Vomiting may also be a symptom. Most patients stop excreting the organism in their faeces within 3-4 weeks. Children and young adults are most commonly affected and the greatest number of cases are seen in the summer months.

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How can Campylobacter be avoided?

• Campylobacter commonly occurs as isolated single cases but occasionally results in family or general outbreaks. The bacteria do not grow in foodstuffs and are easily destroyed by cooking, therefore all meat and poultry should be thoroughly cooked.
• Raw and cooked food should be kept separate to avoid cross contamination.
• Frozen food needs complete thawing before cooking. Care needs to be taken that defrosting juices do not drip onto other food when stored in the refrigerator.
• Personal hygiene is very important – wash hands with soap and water after going to the toilet, before and after handling or preparing food, especially raw and cooked meat and after handling pet animals.
• Wash preparation surfaces and utensils carefully.
• Drink only pasteurised milk and chlorinated water supplies.
• Protect milk bottles on the doorstep from being pecked by birds.

All people with symptoms should be excluded from work, school or day nursery. Anyone who handles food, should remain off work until 48 hours after symptoms have stopped. Children should return to school 24 hours after the first normal stool. Children under 5 must not return to nursery until they have had 48 hours symptom-free.

Following the precautions listed above could help prevent food poisoning being passed on to other people, and it could help prevent you and your family suffering from food poisoning in the future.