Risk factors for domestic sporadic campylobacteriosis among young children in Sweden

A case-control study was conducted in Sweden to study risk factors for domestically acquired Campylobacter jejuni/coli infections among children aged less than 6 y. A total of 126 cases, reported to the national surveillance system were recruited over 1 y. Controls, selected from the population register, were matched to the cases by age, gender, place of residence and time of infection of the case. Information was gathered by posted questionnaires. Two separate conditional regression models were developed including and excluding 'protective' factors. Two of the factors significantly associated with Campylobacter infection were water-related: having a well in the household (OR=2.6) and drinking water from a lake/river (OR=7.4; 6.0). Other exposures associated with increased risk were: having a dog (OR=8.4; 3.8) and eating grilled meat (OR=5.5; 2.1). Drinking unpasteurized milk was borderline significant in 1 model (OR=3.7). Eating sausage was protective (OR=0.05). Eating chicken was not a significant risk. Exposures such as eating grilled meat and drinking water from a lake or a river were more common in the warm months, a factor that may partly explain the observed seasonality. The authors suggest that differences between risk factors across studies may reflect geographical and age-specific differences in the sources of infection.