Campylobacter
Campylobacter is a group of bacteria that commonly causes diarrheal illness after exposure to contaminated poultry, raw milk, water, animals, or kitchen surfaces.
What Campylobacter is
Campylobacter is a genus of bacteria that can infect the intestines and cause campylobacteriosis. Campylobacter jejuni is one of the best-known species linked to human illness. Many infections are short-lived, but the disease can be severe in some people and can occasionally lead to complications after the diarrhea is gone.
How infection spreads
People usually get infected by swallowing the bacteria. Common routes include raw or undercooked poultry, juices from raw chicken, unpasteurized milk, contaminated water, and contact with animal feces. A tiny amount of contamination can matter, especially when raw poultry juices reach ready-to-eat foods, cutting boards, hands, or utensils.
Symptoms
Symptoms often include diarrhea, stomach cramps, abdominal pain, fever, nausea, and vomiting. Diarrhea may be bloody. Illness commonly starts a few days after exposure and usually improves within about a week, though some people have longer symptoms or need medical evaluation.
Who is at higher risk
Severe disease is more likely in young children, older adults, pregnant people, and people with weakened immune systems. People with complex health conditions should take dehydration, fever, bloody diarrhea, or prolonged symptoms seriously and ask a clinician about care.
Complications
Most people recover without lasting problems. In a small share of cases, Campylobacter infection can be followed by complications such as irritable bowel symptoms, reactive arthritis, bloodstream infection, or Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare immune-related nerve disorder that can cause weakness or paralysis.
Diagnosis and treatment
Clinicians may test a stool sample when symptoms are severe, prolonged, bloody, or part of a possible outbreak. Treatment usually focuses on fluids and rest. Antibiotics are sometimes used for severe illness or higher-risk patients, but resistance patterns matter, so treatment should be guided by a healthcare professional.
Kitchen prevention
Do not wash raw poultry, because splashing can spread bacteria. Cook poultry to a safe internal temperature, keep raw meat separate from produce and ready-to-eat foods, wash hands and surfaces after handling raw foods, and refrigerate leftovers promptly. These habits also reduce Salmonella, E. coli, and other foodborne risks.
Animals, water, and travel
Campylobacter can spread outside the kitchen too. Contaminated streams, untreated drinking water, farm environments, and contact with sick pets or animal feces can expose people. Travel can also change risk because food handling, water treatment, and animal contact patterns vary by place.
Why it matters
Campylobacter matters because it is common, easy to underestimate, and strongly tied to ordinary food handling. The same dinner preparation habits that feel routine can either spread invisible contamination or stop it before anyone gets sick.