Campylobacter infection is a type of disease caused by the bacteria that has the same name and it is transmitted in contaminated water and food. This bacterium infects the gastrointestinal tract thus causing fever, cramps, and diarrhea. The infection to humans appears through the contaminated chicken meat, through water, through milk and products made of milk that have not been pasteurized. This disease is usually transmitted from animals to humans. When it reaches the human body, the Campylobacter infects mainly the intestines, but also the blood.

The symptoms of Campylobacter infection appear in the first week after the body has entered in contact with the bacteria. Campylobacteriosis, as it is named the infection with this bacterium, is recognized by such symptoms as fever, cramps at the level of the abdomen, and diarrhea which might lead to dehydration. This effect of the serious type of diarrhea is manifested through a continuous need of drinking water, irritability, lethargy, sunken eyes, dry mouth, and dry skin, need to constantly urinate. If you have been infected with Campylobacter, then your diarrhea will be watery, am=and mixed with blood and mucus.

The Campylobacter infections are extremely frequently met in humans, but there are several types of Campylobacter bacteria that, nonetheless, have more or less the same symptoms. Therefore, there is the “Campylobacter jejuni” that produce serious complications in the cases of the persons who suffer from AIDS, the “Campylobacter lari” produces mild diarrhea in the case of children, and the “Campylobacter upsaliensis” or the “Campylobacter hyointestinalis” also produce bacteremia in the cases of those whose bodies are poorly immunized.

The Campylobacter infection appears when there exist a fecal-oral contact, a sexual intercourse with a person who suffers from this infection, and this infection is mainly transmitted through raw milk and insufficiently cooked chicken meat, through contaminated water.

The symptoms of the Campylobacter infection appear in the first week of incubation when there are being damaged the tissues of the colon and of the ileum. The bacterium invades and then begins to destroy the epithelial cells. In the case of the patients who also suffer from HIV, this infection might appear more frequently because of their low level of body resistance. Moreover, in the case of those who have AIDS there are more recurrent diarrhea episodes because the antibiotics can barely cure them and protect them against future infections.

This illness has not caused the death of those who have been infected, except for those who are extremely young or for those whose immune system is extremely weak. The studies reveal nonetheless the predominance of this infection especially in the case of infants younger than one year and in the case of young people between 15 and 29 years old.

It is very important that you go and see a doctor if symptoms such as those enlisted below appear. In the case in which an adult has been infected with the Campylobacter bacteria, that person will experience such symptoms as signs of dehydration, namely the constant need to drink liquids, the lack of need to urinate, lethargy, dry mouth and dry tongue, sensations of faint when you’re walking or when you’re standing. The adults also experience symptoms such as mild or severe fever, serious stomach aches or pains, and diarrhea that has a watery aspect and it is mixed with blood and mucus.

In the case of the small children or infants, there appear the same symptoms as in the case of the adults if the child has been infected with Campylobacter bacteria. Therefore, if you’re baby is experiencing such symptoms as dehydration, fever, stomach pain, bloody diarrhea, you should definitely take the baby to the doctor.