Abstract
BackgroundCampylobacter infection is a major cause of bacterial gastrointestinal disease. Exposure to Campylobacter is known to produce an immune response in humans that can prevent future symptomatic infections. Further, studies of the general population have shown that seroprevalence to Campylobacter increases with age.MethodsA large collection of serotyped Campylobacter isolates, obtained from human clinical faecal samples, were analysed by comparing the ratio of uncommon to common serotypes by different age groups, using χ2 tests.ResultsWe have identified that older age groups, as well as having generally lower incidence, are significantly less likely to be infected by the more common serotypes.ConclusionThese results are indicative of acquired immunity, however, further studies are needed to rule out the confounding effects of the variations in exposure pathways experienced by different age groups.
Highlights
Campylobacter infection is a major cause of bacterial gastrointestinal disease
Symptoms of campylobacteriosis include fever, abdominal cramp, and bloody diarrhoea, which can last for approximately seven days after infection, with one in a 1000 cases leading to the more serious neurological disease, Guillain-Barré syndrome [3]
Human seroprevalence studies of C. jejuni specific antigens have shown that IgG, IgM, and IgA antibodies are produced during infection [5,6]
Summary
Campylobacter infection is a major cause of bacterial gastrointestinal disease. Studies of the general population have shown that seroprevalence to Campylobacter increases with age. Campylobacter is the greatest cause of human bacterial gastroenteritis in the developed world [1], with more than 50,000 cases reported in the UK alone each year [2]. Human seroprevalence studies of C. jejuni specific antigens have shown that IgG, IgM, and IgA antibodies are produced during infection [5,6]. A recent study of seroprevalence in Danish adults looked at IgG antibodies in a sample of 1112 people from Copenhagen [7]. It was found that the percentage of people with C.jejuni-specific IgG antibodies increased with age, from 20.6% in the 15–34 years age group to 32.4% in the 50 – 69 years age group
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