Campylobacter epidemiology-sources and routes of transmission for human infection

The identification of the sources and routes of transmission of Campylobacter jejuni/coli is essential to the prevention and control of human campylobacteriosis. However, this has proved a significant challenge over the past 35 years because these organisms were so unlike other enteric bacteria, especially Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. Our current understanding of Campylobacter epidemiology is derived from a range of approaches, including epidemiological studies, and microbiological subtyping. These approaches indicate that poultry is the primary reservoir for campylobacters causing human disease. However, although campylobacteriosis is generally considered a foodborne disease primarily acquired through the handling and consumption of poultry meat, discrepancies between source attribution data from case-control studies and those based on subtyping strongly suggest that transmission routes through environmental exposure may be as, if not more, important.