Campylobacteriosis, 2005

Campylobacter continues to be the most commonly reported bacterial enteric pathogen in Minnesota. There were 843 cases of culture-confirmed Campylobacter infection reported in 2005 (16.4 per 100,000 population). This represents a 6% decline from the 896 cases reported in 2004, continuing a trend in which the number of Campylobacter cases has declined each year since 2000 (Figure 1). The median annual number of cases reported from 2000 to 2004 was 941 (range, 896 to 1,079). In 2005, 51% of cases occurred in people who resided outside the Twin Cities metropolitan area. Of the 745 Campylobacter isolates confirmed and identified to species by MDH, 91% were C. jejuni and 7% were C. coli.

The median age of case-patients was 32 years (range, 1 month to 94 years). Sixty-seven percent of cases were between 20 and 49 years of age, and 16% were 5 years of age or younger. Fifty-seven percent of cases were male. Thirteen percent of case-patients were hospitalized; the median length of hospitalization was 2 days. Forty-nine percent of infections occurred during June through September. Of the 778 (92%) case-patients for whom data were available, 187 (24%) reported travel outside of the United States during the week prior to illness onset. The most common travel destinations were Mexico (n=58), Asia (n=36), Central or South America or the Caribbean (n=35), and Europe (n=34). There were no outbreaks of campylobacteriosis identified in 2005.

A primary feature of public health importance among Campylobacter cases was the continued presence of Campylobacter isolates resistant to fluoroquinoline antibiotics (e.g., ciprofloxacin), which are commonly used to treat campylobacteriosis. In 2005, the overall proportion of quinolone resistance among Campylobacter isolates tested was 22%. However, 67% of C. jejuni isolates from patients with a history of foreign travel, regardless of destination, during the week before illness onset were resistant to fluoroquinolones. Domestically-acquired quinolone-resistant C. jejuni infections have also increased in recent years. This increase likely is due largely to the use of fluoroquinolones in poultry (the primary source of Campylobacter for humans) in the United States, which began late in 1995. In 2005, 9% of C. jejuni isolates from patients who acquired the infection domestically were resistant to fluoroquinolones. Because of the public health risk associated with the use of fluoroquinolones in poultry, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) withdrew the approval of enrofloxacin (a veterinary fluoroquinolone) for use in poultry in September 2005.

• For up to date information see>> Campylobacteriosis (Campylobacter)
• Full issue>> Annual Summary of Communicable Diseases Reported to the Minnesota Department of Health, 2005