Campylobacter: Vorkommen und pathogene Bedeutung bei Mensch und Tier

摘要

Campylobacter, mainly C. jejuni and C. coli are one of the most notified causes of human acute infective enteritis in the world. In industrialized countries, the main reservoir for human infections are Campylobacter infections in food-producing animals and the agent enters the food-chain by fecal contamination of food. Poultry, raw milk, and water are considered as the primary sources of infection. Direct transmission may occur due to close contact with animals. In some instances, enteropathogenic Campylobacter cause intestinal and extraintestinal complications with the Guillan-Barre-Syndrome, an acute polyradiculoneuropathy, being the most serious. In animals, thermophilic Campylobacter are cause of sporadic abortions. The enteropathogenicity of Campylobacter in animals is still unclear. C. fetus subspecies fetus causes sporadic abortion in cattle and sheep. Human infections are only rare but are generally serious in consequence due to their septicemic nature. C. fetus subspecies venerealis is the agent of bovine venereal campylobacteriosis, which is clinically characterised by a repeat breeding syndrome and sporadic abortions at 4-7 months of gestation.