Non food-related risk factors of campylobacteriosis in Canada: a matched case-control study

Abstract

BackgroundCampylobacteriosis is a prominent bacterial gastrointestinal infection worldwide with several transmission pathways. Its non-foodborne routes have been less documented and quantified. The study aimed to quantitatively explore the role of potential risk factors not directly associated with food for sporadic cases of C. jejuni infection in Canada.MethodsThis retrospective matched case-control study was built on an enhanced campylobacteriosis surveillance system and on a survey of healthy people and their behaviour with regards to potential risk factors for gastrointestinal infections that occurred in the same area in Canada. Eighty-five cases were individually matched by age and season to 170 controls.ResultsThrough conditional logistic regression, risk factors were found only among water-related factors (drinking untreated water, using tap filter, drinking water from well and swimming in natural water), whereas drinking bottled water was protective. Among the 32 non-water related factors explored, 12 were surprisingly ‘protective’ factors without relevant explanation for that effect (for example gardening, attending a barbecue, eating food from a fast-food restaurant), suggesting that human infection by Campylobacter may be more frequently acquired at home than outside the home.ConclusionsThis study confirms and quantifies the importance of the waterborne transmission of campylobacteriosis. People are encouraged to drink only treated water and to avoid the ingestion of natural water as much as possible while swimming or playing in water. Globally, general hygiene and proper food handling and cooking practices at home should continue to be encouraged.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12889-016-3679-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Ruminant and chicken: important sources of campylobacteriosis in France despite a variation of source attribution in 2009 and 2015

“…Implication of the environmental reservoir in our study, including environmental waters and wild birds, was low in 2009 (0–11% using MLST or the host-segregating markers) but slightly increased in 2015 (7–19% using MLST or the host-segregating markers). Our environmental-related estimates were in accordance with previous works 19 , 33 , 34 , 37 , 58 , which mainly associated these cases to consumption of untreated or private well water, practice of recreational activities related to water 59 – 61 , game consumption 34 , or contact with garden soil 19 , while consumption of drinking water in bottles were protective 60 . Consistent with this, contamination through the consumption of treated drinking water is unlikely in France as no Campylobacter were isolated from drinking water 16 , and from groundwater despite the detection in this case of C .…”

Campylobacter infections expected to increase due to climate change in Northern Europe

“…both rain and snowfall) may decrease the number of cases reported. Generally, these results support the theory that transmission via the environment could be important for cases which are not explained by consumption or handling of poultry 3,4,6 . People in the Nordic countries are weather dependent and spend an increasing amount of time outdoors when weather conditions are suitable, resulting in a higher likelihood of contact to environmental infection sources.…”

Campylobacteriosis, Salmonellosis, Yersiniosis, and Listeriosis as Zoonotic Foodborne Diseases: A Review

“…In 2012, the EFSA noted 214,268 cases, and in 2015, the number of noted infections rose to 229,213, reaching 246,307 in 2016 [ 1 , 13 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ]. It is estimated that in the United States, campylobacteriosis affects a million people a year, and in Canada, there are over 200 thousand cases registered each year [ 35 , 36 ]. Cases of campylobacteriosis have become common also in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, particularly in children [ 32 ].…”