Cherokee County Health Department Disease Surveillance has received five reports of campylobacter infections that have been confirmed by stool cultures. Cultures were performed between 07-09-07 and 08-02-07. Cherokee County Health Department is investigating but no common links have been found so far.

Campylobacter is one of the most common bacterial causes of diarrheal illness. Many cases of campylobacteriosis are associated with handling raw poultry or eating raw or undercooked poultry. The organism is not usually spread from person to person, but this can happen if the infected person is a small child or is producing a large volume of diarrhea. Campylobacteriosis can also be caused by drinking unpasteurized milk or contaminated water.

Symptoms of campylobacteriosis include diarrhea that can be bloody, cramping, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and fever. The illness typically lasts one week. Antibiotics can be prescribed to shorten the duration of symptoms.

Proper food handling techniques, cooking all poultry products to the right temperature (170° F for breast meat and 180°F for thigh meat) and good hand hygiene practices can help prevent campylobacteriosis. Also avoid consuming unpasteurized milk or untreated surface water.

Please report all cases of camplyobacteriosos to Cherokee County Health Department as it is a notifiable condition by Texas State Law. More information can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/campylobacter_g.htm