Abstract
Campylobacteriosis is the most important bacterial food-borne disease in the developed world. Consumption of chicken meat, beef or raw milk, direct contact with ruminants and exposure to contaminated surface water or even consumption of tap water have been identified as risk factors for human disease. However, the most important risk factor is consumption of and/or handling contaminated chicken. Campylobacter spp. are fastidious microorganisms but must somehow survive outside the host, especially in food and agricultural environments and also resist the innate and humoral immune responses inside the host. In this paper we hypothesize that other microorganisms in mixed populations with Campylobacter may act to improve survival outside the host and may also protect the pathogen against the intestinal immune system. Our evidence for this hypothesis is based on: 1. newly generated microbial community analysis; 2. the prolonged survival of Campylobacter in mixed species biofilms and in co-culture with environmental bacteria; 3. improved survival in amoebae and rumen fluid; 4. sulfur release and iron uptake systems within the intestinal lumen. This would make Campylobacter an exceptional food-borne pathogen. With this in mind, new strategies are necessary to combat Campylobacter along the total food chain.
Highlights
Campylobacter jejuni (C. jejuni) is the most important bacterium causing foodborne infections in the developed world
Mice orally infected with C. jejuni suffer from enterocolitis, diarrhea and show a humoral immune response similar to that seen in human campylobacteriosis (Bereswill et al, 2011)
Campylobacter are not able to synthetize their own siderophores for its iron metabolism, but are able to use ones released by other bacteria and take up these ferric complexes
Summary
Campylobacter jejuni (C. jejuni) is the most important bacterium causing foodborne infections in the developed world Infection with this pathogen leads to severe economic loss in industrial countries and it is estimated that 1% of the European population is infected per year (Humphrey et al, 2014). The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) reported 214268 confirmed human cases (with 31 death occurring) due to campylobacteriosis compared to 91034 human cases of salmonellosis in 2012 in Europe (EFSA and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, 2014). These figures are likely to be a significant under-estimation. C. jejuni, the most important species causing human disease, can reside in the intestine of most warm-blooded animals, sometimes with distinct effects on the host such as severe disease symptoms, inflammation of gut mucosa and even penetration
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
