Campylonacteriosis

When To Call A Professional

Call your doctor promptly if you develop symptoms of Campylobacter infection, especially if you have a high fever, severe diarrhea, bloody diarrhea, or severe abdominal pain. Call your doctor immediately if an infant, an elderly adult, or a person with a weakened immune system develops symptoms of Campylobacter infection.

Prognosis

Most otherwise healthy adults recover from Campylobacter infection within two to five days; occasionally mild diarrhea may persist for another week. Perhaps 5% to 10% of untreated adults (most commonly people with AIDS) have the illness return. Although campylobacteriosis is rarely fatal, a severe infection may cause death in infants, the elderly, and people with other illnesses.

About one in every 1,000 people with Campylobacter develops a complication called Guillain-Barré Syndrome, an illness that attacks the myelin (a fatty sheathlike covering) around nerves, causing paralysis. Although Guillain-Barré Syndrome can be triggered by several infectious illnesses, current research shows that some patients with Guillain-Barré Syndrome have laboratory evidence of a recent C. jejuni infection.

In patients with Reiter's syndrome, a Campylobacter infection can trigger an arthritis flare in one or more joints, usually within seven to 10 days after the diarrhea begins.

Additional Info

National Center for Infectious Diseases Office of Health Communication Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Mailstop C-14 1600 Clifton Rd., NE Atlanta, GA 30333 Toll-Free: (888) 232-3228 http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/