Direct milk excretion ofCampylobacter jejuniin a dairy cow causing cases of human enteritis

Abstract

SUMMARYConsumption of milk contaminated withCampylobacter jejunihas been described as a cause of human enteritis. Although faecal contamination of milk with the organism has frequently been described, direct milk excretion ofCampylobacter jejuniinto milk has rarely been linked with cases of human infection. We describe the investigations undertaken following the isolation ofCampylobacter jejunifrom samples of unpasteurized milk prior to retail. Results of epidemiological investigations including typing ofCampylobacter jejuniisolates using pyrolysis mass spectrometry, Penner and Lior serotyping, biotyping, phage typing and restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis provided convincing evidence implicating direct milk excretion ofCampylobacter jejuniby one asymptomatic dairy cow as the source of the milk contamination and the cause of local cases of human enteritis.