Campylobacter jejuni is a curved rod shaped bacteria, that is commonly found in animal faeces and is one of the most common causes of human diarrhoea in developed countries. Food poisoning caused by Campylobacter species can be severely debilitating but is rarely life-threatening. It has been linked with subsequent development of the neurodegenerative disease Guillan Barre Syndrome(GBS).
It is commonly associated with chickens and has been found in wombat and kangaroo faeces, being a cause of bushwalkers' diarrhoea. It naturally colonises many different bird species.
In the laboratory, Campylobacter is grown on specially selective agar plates at 42°C, the normal body temperature of the avian, rather than the 37C that other bacteria are often grown at. The colonies are oxidase positive, and will usually only grow in scanty amounts on the plates, requiring microaerophilic conditions for luxurious growth.
Normally no antibiotics are given as the disease is self-limiting. Severe or prolonged cases may require ciprofloxacin, erythromycin or norfloxacin.
