Campylobacter fetus subsp. fetus in homosexual males.

Campylobacter fetus subsp. fetus was isolated from the stools of two homosexual males. One was asymptomatic at the time of isolation. The other presented with diarrhea. Both isolates were initially grown at 42 degrees C. This organism should be included among the list of organisms that are found in homosexual males.     

Campylobacter fetus subsp. jejuni as a cause of gastroenteritis in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Campylobacter fetus subsp. jejuni was isolated from the feces of 15 out of 144 (10%) children (0 to 9 years old) and 4 out of 251 (2%) adults with gastroenteritis and was found together with another enteric pathogen in 2 of the children and in all 4 adults. It was isolated from 2 out of 7 (28%) children and 3 out of 160 (2%) adults with suspected typhoid fever. The bacterium was recovered from 3 out of 4 orphanage children with diarrhea and from 1 without symptoms and was isolated from only 1 child in a control group of 221 persons.     

Long-term infections with Campylobacter fetus subsp. jejuni.

Seventy-three apparently healthy, rural South African schoolchildren 6 to 8 or 13 to 16 years of age were examined five times over a 16-month period for fecal pathogens. Nine were positive for Campylobacter fetus subsp. jejuni. The organism was isolated intermittently from six children for at least 9 months and from three children for more than 1 year. Five of the long-term infections occurred among the 46 children aged 6 to 8 years (10.9%) versus one long-term infection among the 27 children aged 13 to 16 years (3.7%). It is not possible with present microbiological techniques to make a clear-cut distinction between reinfected subjects and chronic carriers.     

Isolation of Campylobacter fetus subsp. fetus from a patient with cellulitis

Campylobacter fetus subsp. fetus is a gram-negative, slender, spirally curved bacterial pathogen. It has been isolated from human blood, spinal fluid, and abscesses, but cellulitis associated with bacteremia is rare. We report its isolation from a blood culture of a human patient with cellulitis as well as difficulties encountered in determining the identity of the subspecies of C. fetus.     

Septic Abortion with Intact Fetal Membranes Caused by Campylobacter fetus subsp. fetus

We report a case of septic abortion with intact fetal membranes caused by Campylobacter fetus subsp. fetus in an 18-year-old woman who was 9 1/2 weeks pregnant.     

Fatal relapse of a purulent pleurisy caused by Campylobacter fetus subsp. fetus

Campylobacter fetus is associated with invasive disease, while other Campylobacter species, such as C. coli and C. jejuni, are a common cause of bacterial diarrhea. Bacteremia has been well described, but pleurisy remains very uncommon. We report the recurrent isolation of a C. fetus subsp. fetus strain during two episodes of pleural effusion with a fatal outcome.     

Campylobacter fetus subsp. jejuni in a turkey processing plant.

Cecal cultures taken over a 1-year period from 600 turkeys at a poultry processing plant were all positive for Campylobacter fetus subsp. jejuni. Swabs of the cloaca and fresh feces were likewise all positive. Of 33 freshly dressed turkey carcases, 94% were positive before chilling in tanks of chlorinated ice and water; 34% of 83 carcasses were still positive after overnight soaking in the tanks. Increasing the chlorine content from 50 to 340 ppm (50 to 340 micrograms/ml) did not cause a decrease in the number of positive carcasses. C. fetus subsp. jejuni was isolated from wastewater gutters as well as from chutes and conveyor belts in the packaging room. Water samples from the five water treatment lagoons for the plant were all positive for C. fetus subsp. jejuni while the plant was in operation, but 4 days after the plant closed for the winter, all water samples were negative.     

Isolation of Campylobacter fetus subsp. jejuni from migratory waterfowl.

Since the sources from which humans acquire Campylobacter enteritis are only partially known, we studied the frequency of carriage of Campylobacter fetus subsp. jejuni in migratory waterfowl. Cecal contents of various species of wild ducks were cultured on selective media that contained antibiotics to inhibit normal flora. Thirty-five percent of the 445 ducks cultured harbored C. fetus subsp. jejuni. Migratory waterfowl are yet another reservoir for this enteric pathogen and may be of public health importance for humans in the contamination of water or when used as food.     

Survival of Campylobacter fetus subsp. jejuni in biological milieus.

To provide new information on the epidemiology and pathophysiology of human infection with Campylobacter fetus subsp. jejuni, we studied its survival in several milieus. Standard inocula of organisms were placed in hydrochloric acid, human bile and urine, bovine milk, or stream water and kept at 4, 25, or 37 degrees C; viable organisms were then counted. Stools from humans infected with Campylobacter were similarly tested. Survival in acid was pH and time dependent, with 7-log kill within 5 min in solutions at pH 2.3. Organisms multiplied in bile at 37 degrees C and survived for 2 months. Organisms survived better in feces, milk, water, and urine kept at 4 degrees C than they did in these milieus at 25 degrees C. Maximal viabilities of Campylobacter organisms kept at 4 degrees C were 3 weeks in feces, 3 weeks in milk, 4 weeks in water, and 5 weeks in urine. Study results suggest that when these milieus are contaminated with C. fetus subsp. jejuni, they may be significant environmental reservoirs.     

Isolation of Campylobacter fetus subsp. jejuni from Bangladeshi children.

To determine the prevalence of infection with Campylobacter fetus subsp. jejuni in Bangladesh, culture surveys were conducted among three populations. In Dacca, Campylobacter was isolated from 5.2% of 97 individuals with clinical dysentery and from 12.3% of 204 patients with only diarrhea. This difference may have resulted from a greater representation of young children in the second group. Campylobacter was isolated from 17.7% of the 141 healthy village children aged 1 to 5.5 years and from 38.8% of the 1-year-old children. More infected children (48%) had a history of recent diarrheal illness than did a group of matched controls (20%; P = 0.016). These findings suggest that campylobacter infection is common for Bangladeshi children. However, this organism may not cause diarrheal illness in all instances in which it is isolated.     

Intestinal colonization of neonatal animals by Campylobacter fetus subsp. jejuni.

Neonatal mice (2.3 to 2.8 g) were inoculated intragastrically with different human isolates of Campylobacter fetus subsp. jejuni. At weekly intervals thereafter, mice were sacrificed and dilution plate counts were performed on segments of the gastrointestinal tract. Mice were uniformly colonized by some strains for 2 weeks, whereas other strains were being cleared at that time. One strain (BO216) persisted in some mice for 3 weeks. The greatest number of organisms (10(7)) was recovered from the cecum and large intestine. The small intestine had from 10(2) to 10(5) colony-forming units. Colonization of the stomach was not found consistently. One strain killed 13% of the infected mice. Deaths occurred between 1 and 5 days postinfection. Two other strains killed a smaller percentage of challenged animals, and two additional strains killed none. Retarded weight gain was noticed in some, but not all, of the infected mice. The intestines of neonatal rats and rabbits were colonized much the same as those of mice, whereas hamsters were resistant to colonization. Preweanling mice, up to about 6.5 to 7.0 g, could be colonized with C. fetus subsp. jejuni after intragastric challenge, but weanling mice of larger weight (9.8 g) and young adult mice (18.3 g) could not. Scanning electron photomicrographs of the lower ileum showed campylobacters in and below the dried mucous gel that lines the intestines. The use of this model for additional studies is discussed.     

Roles of the surface layer proteins of Campylobacter fetus subsp. fetus in ovine abortion

The role of the surface (S)-layer proteins of Campylobacter fetus subsp. fetus has been investigated using an ovine model of abortion. Wild-type strain 23D induced abortion in up to 90% of pregnant ewes challenged subcutaneously. Isolates recovered from both dams and fetuses expressed S-layer proteins with variable molecular masses. The spontaneous S-layer-negative variant, strain 23B, neither colonized nor caused abortions in pregnant ewes. A series of isogenic sapA and recA mutants, derived from 23D, also were investigated in this model. A mutant (501 [sapA recA(+)]) caused abortion in one of five challenged animals and was recovered from the placenta of a second animal. Another mutant (502 [sapA recA]) with no S-layer protein expression caused no colonization or abortions in challenged animals but caused abortion when administered intraplacentally. Mutants 600(2) and 600(4), both recA, had fixed expression of 97- and 127-kDa S-layer proteins, respectively. Two of the six animals challenged with mutant 600(4) were colonized, but there were no abortions. As expected, all five strains recovered expressed a 127-kDa S-layer protein. In contrast, mutant 600(2) was recovered from the placentas of all five challenged animals and caused abortion in two. Unexpectedly, one of the 16 isolates expressed a 127-kDa rather than a 97-kDa S-layer protein. Thus, these studies indicate that S-layer proteins appear essential for colonization and/or translocation to the placenta but are not required to mediate fetal injury and that S-layer variation may occur in a recA strain.     

Prevalence of Campylobacter fetus subsp. jejuni in healthy populations in southern India.

Campylobacter fetus subsp. jejuni was isolated from the feces of 14.8% of a random sample of the healthy population of rural southern India. The rate of isolation was highest in preschool children. This finding emphasizes the need to identify markers of pathogenicity in strains of C. fetus subsp. jejuni, which so far are identified only by cultural characteristics. The pathogenic role of this organism in patients with diarrhoea in tropical developing countries can be understood when such markers of pathogenicity are found.     

Comparison of selective media for primary isolation of Campylobacter fetus subsp. jejuni.

Three selective media, Skirrow, Butzler, and a modification of Butzler medium, were compared for the primary isolation of Campylobacter fetus subsp. jejuni. This organism was isolated from 87 of 347 specimens (72 from 240 dogs rectal swabs and 15 from 107 cats rectal swabs). The positive rate for dogs (30%) was twice as high as that for cats (14%). Skirrow and Butzler media were comparable in their isolation of C. fetus subsp. jejuni. A significantly higher rate of positive results was obtained with modified Butzler medium. The best combination of two media was that of modified Butzler and Skirrow media, which detected 98% of the isolates obtained. The percentage of Campylobacter-positive specimens was increased by 9% by holding primary isolation plates 72 h.     

Comparison of rectal swabs and stool cultures in detecting Campylobacter fetus subsp. jejuni.

Rectal swabs and stool specimens were compared for the detection of Campylobacter fetus subsp. jejuni in marmosets. Rectal swabs were superior to stool specimens for detection of Campylobacter fetus subsp. jejuni (P = 0.016). Preliminary human data are also presented.     

Evaluation of media for isolation of Campylobacter fetus subsp. jejuni from fecal specimens.

Isolation rates of Campylobacter fetus subsp. jejuni from human fecal specimens were equivalent after broth enrichment (thioglycolate medium containing antibiotics) and direct inoculation on two brucella blood agar media containing ferrous sulfate, sodium metabisulfite, and sodium pyruvate, identical concentrations of vancomycin and trimethoprim, and different concentrations of polymyxin B and cephalothin. Studies with clinical isolates of C. fetus subsp. jejuni demonstrated temperature-dependent activity of polymyxin E (colistin) and substantial inhibition of growth on Thayer-Martin and Martin-Lewis media.     

Campylobacter fetus subsp fetus bacteremia in a female patient infected by the hepatitis C virus

Campylobacter fetus subsp fetus was identified as an unusual etiologic agent of septicemia in an immuno-compromized patient VHC positive by utilizing a 16S rRNA molecular kit in our hospital's clinical laboratory. This method would appear as a performing approach to identify pathogens when discrepancies exist between phenotypical tests.