Campylobacter

Test codes:

B0006 - Qualitative Campylobacter species screen by real time polymerase chain reaction.  This assay detects but does not differentiate C. jejuni, C. coli and C. lari.

B0007 - Qualitative detection of Campylobacter jejuni by polymerase chain reaction. This assay does not detect C. coli or C. lari.

Family Campylobacteraceae includes 2 genera, Campylobacter and Arcobacter. There are 18 species and subspecies within the genus Campylobacter, 11 of which are considered pathogenic to humans, causing enteric and extra-intestinal illnesses. The major pathogens are Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter fetus. These pathogens are small, curved, motile, microaerophilic, gram-negative rods. They vary in width from 0.2-0.9 um and in length from 0.5-5.0 um. They exhibit rapid, darting motility in corkscrew fashion by means of a single flagellum or 2 flagella (monotrichous, amphitrichous). They also possess a lipopolysaccharide endotoxin.

Campylobacteriosis is the infectious disease caused by bacteria of the genus Campylobacter. Most people suffering from campylobacteriosis develop diarrhea, cramping, abdominal pain, and fever within 2 to 5 days after exposure to the organism. The diarrhea may be bloody and can be accompanied by nausea and vomiting. The symptoms may last for one week. Some persons infected with Campylobacter, however, may be asymptomatic. In persons with compromised immune systems, Campylobacter can occasionally spread to the bloodstream and causes a serious life-threatening infection.

People who get campylobacteriosis usually recover completely within 2 to 5 days, although sometimes recovery can take up to 10 days. Although rare, long-term consequences sometimes result from Campylobacter infection. Some people may have arthritis following campylobacteriosis; others may develop a rare disease that affects the nerves of the body beginning several weeks after the diarrheal illness. This disease, called Guillain-Barré syndrome, occurs when a person's immune system is "triggered" to attack the body's own nerves, and can lead to paralysis that lasts several weeks and usually requires intensive care. It is estimated that approximately one in 1000 reported campylobacteriosis cases leads to Guillain-Barré syndrome. As many as 40% of Guillain-Barré syndrome cases in the United States may be caused by campylobacteriosis.

In colonies of nonhuman primates, recurring diarrhea is the leading cause of animal morbidity requiring veterinary care (Elmore et al., 1992; Munoz-Zanzi et al., 1999) and one of the leading causes for this chronic enterocolitis is infection with Campylobacter bacteria, especially C. coli and C. jejuni (Sestak et al., 2003). Recently, Campylobacter infection has also been linked to fetal death of Rhesus macaques (Baze, and Bernacky, 2002). Because macaques can be asymptomatic carriers and Campylobacter-induced diarrhea is common, this finding has implications for breeding success in nonhuman primate breeding colonies.

Although Campylobacter bacteria isolation can be used to diagnose the bacterial infection, a long incubation period is required to obtain results. Furthermore, bacterial culture is not very sensitive nor specific, and it increases the potential risk of laboratory personnel contacting the bacteria. Subspecies identification by culture can be difficult due to new variants. Campylobacter detection by PCR is not only rapid, sensitive and specific, but can also accurately subtype the bacteria.

Utilities:

• Confirm the disease causing agent
• Ensure that animal groups or populations are free of Campylobacter bacteria
• Early prevention of spread of the bacteria among an animal group or population
• Minimize human exposure to the bacteria

References:
Elmore, D. B., J. H. Anderson, D. W. Hird, K. D. Sanders, and N. W. Lerche (1992). Diarrhea rates and risk factors for developing chronic diarrhea in infant and juvenile rhesus monkeys. Lab. Anim. Sci. 42:356-359.
Munoz-Zanzi, C. A., M. C. Thurmond, D. W. Hird, and N. W. Lerche (1999) Effect of weaning time and associated management practices on postweaning chronic diarrhea in captive rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta). Lab. Anim. Sci. 49:617-621.
Sestak, K., Merritt, C.K., Borda, J., Saylor, E., Schwamberger, S.R., Cogswell, F., Didier, E.S., Didier, P.J., Plauche, G., Bohm, R.P., Aye, P.P., Alexa, P., Ward, R. and Lackner, A.A. (2003) Infectious agent and immune response characteristics of chronic enterocolitis in captive rhesus macaques. Infect Immun. 71:4079-86.
Baze, W.B. and Bernacky, B.J. (2002) Campylobacter-induced fetal death in a rhesus monkey. Vet Pathol. 39:605-7.
Kulkarni, S.P., Lever, S., Logan, J.M., Lawson, A.J., Stanley, J. and Shafi, M.S. (2002) Detection of campylobacter species: a comparison of culture and polymerase chain reaction based methods. J Clin Pathol. 55:749-753.

Specimen requirements: Feces, rectal swab, or 1 ml bacterial culture. Less preferred specimen: whole blood in EDTA (purple top) or ACD (yellow top) tube. Ship fresh specimens overnight at room temperature.

For specimen types other than those listed here, please call to confirm specimen acceptability and shipping instructions.

For all specimen types, if there will be a delay in shipping, or during very warm weather, refrigerate specimens until shipped and ship with a cold pack unless more stringent shipping requirements are specified. Frozen specimens should be shipped so as to remain frozen in transit. See shipping instructions for more information.

Turnaround time: 2 business days

Methodologies:
B0006 - Qualitative real time PCR
B0007 - Qualitative PCR

Normal range: Nondetected