Campylobacter jejuni: A Review of its Characteristics, Pathogenicity, Ecology, Distribution, Subspecies Characterization and Molecular Methods of Detection

Abstract

Campylobacter jejuni is considered to be the leading cause of enteric illness in the United States and other industrialized nations, causing mild to severe symptoms including serious infections of the extremities and permanent neurological symptoms. The organism is a cytochrome oxidase positive, microaerophilic, curved Gram-negative rod exhibiting corkscrew motility and is carried in the intestine of many wild and domestic animals, particularly avian species including poultry, where the intestine is colonized resulting in healthy animals as carriers. Wildlife have long been considered an infectious reservoir for campylobacters because of their close association with and contamination of surface waters. This review deals with the areas of: phenotypic characteristics of C. jejuni and related human pathogenic species of Campylobacter, their ecological distribution, virulence factors, isolation of C. jejuni from foods, serotyping of Campylobacter isolates, bacteriophage typing, molecular methods of detecting and typing campylobacters, the viable but nonculturable state of campylobacters, the coccoid form of C. jejuni and immunomagnetic capture of C. jejuni.

Key Words:

• Campylobacter jejuni
• review
• pathogenicity
• characteristics
• detection
• symptoms
• ecology
• molecular typing

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author wishes to acknowledge the meticulous editing of the text and tables by Ruth Witkowski.