Campylobacter

The association of infection with consumption of contaminated water and foods, particularly poultry, is clearly established (1 ). Campylobacter food poisoning outbreaks occur either sporadically, affecting individuals and small groups suchs as families, or larger community outbreaks. Campylobacter jejuni commonly occurs in undercooked chicken (2 ). Cross-contamination from raw poultry to foods that are not cooked before eating is also a cause. Campylobacter spp. are readily destroyed by temperatures used in Pasteurization and cooking (3 ,4 ). They may survive for several weeks in a moist environment but quickly die in dry conditions, particularly at room temperature. Acidic conditions rapidly destroy them and they show no unusual resistance to disinfectants. Table 1 presents characteristicsof catalase-positive Campylobacters .