Campylobacteriosis ( Campylobacter spp.)
• Campylobacter are spiral to curved gram-negative bacterial rods. There are numerous species in the genus, many of which are considered normal components of the microbiota of wild and domestic animals, and some of which are reported to cause disease in animals or humans. • Campylobacter are the most common cause of notifiable diarrhoeal illness in humans in Australia, with approximately 30,000 cases reported annually. The true human disease burden is however estimated at 10 times this. 1 • Although most human cases are foodborne (estimated 77% of cases) 2 , transmission directly or indirectly from companion animals, particularly young animals, can occur.
ACAZAP RECOMMENDATIONS
• Hand hygiene immediately after contact with animals (including pet reptiles and amphibians), animal food or treats, animal bedding and animal faeces is essential. • Avoid feeding raw meat diets to dogs and cats. If fed, consider the potential for human infection from either contact with the food or the faeces of pets consuming such diets. • Animal faeces should be collected and disposed of immediately. • Appropriate cleaning and disinfection of bowls and contact surfaces should be regularly performed. • Maintain cats indoors to reduce risk of predation on and transmission from wildlife. • Campylobacter infection during pregnancy can result in
significant complications. Pregnant women should be advised of the risk and informed of the precautions that can be taken to prevent infection, such as avoiding contact with raw food diets or pets with diarrhoea. Disposal of pet faeces and litter tray cleaning should be undertaken by other members of the household. If not possible, adequate hand hygiene protocols should be followed. • Antimicrobial treatment is generally not required for dogs and cats with Campylobacter infection, as infection is self-resolving and rarely serious. • Screening healthy animals for Campylobacter is not recommended. • In a veterinary clinic or animal facility setting (e.g. kennels, shelters) isolation of all animals with documented or potentially infectious diarrhoea is recommended.
IN ANIMALS
AETIOLOGY AND EPIDEMIOLOGY • The most commonly isolated Campylobacter species in dogs and cats is C. upsaliensis , a canine adapted species, which may be considered part of the normal flora. Other species isolated include C. jejuni, C. coli, and C. helveticus. Animals may be co-infected with multiple Campylobacter species. • Campylobacter is frequently isolated from meat (human grade) in Australia, with a recent study detecting Campylobacter in 90% of samples of chicken meat and 73% of chicken offal. Lower rates of detection were seen in lamb (38%), pork (31%) and beef (14%) offal. 3 • Companion animals are infected via the faecal-oral route through ingestion of contaminated water, raw or undercooked
food, or through direct or indirect contact with faeces from affected animals or people.
PREVALENCE AND RISK FACTORS • Campylobacter are frequently identified in canine and feline faeces. A meta-analysis of 34 published studies reported a global weighted mean prevalence of approximately 25% in both dogs and cats. 4 A study in South Australia demonstrated Campylobacter carriage in 43% of dogs (34% C. upsaliensis, 7% C. jejuni , 2% C. coli ) and 15% of cats (11% C. upsaliensis , 4% C. jejuni ), however research using more modern molecular techniques is needed. 5 More recently a study in dogs and cats with diarrhoea reported Campylobacter spp. in 47.6% of cats and 36.3% of dogs. 6
CONTENTS
24 Companion Animal Zoonoses Guidelines
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online