The Epidemiology and Zoonotic Transmission of Thermophilic Campylobacter lari

Abstract

Thermophilic campylobacters, including Campylobacter lari, are the most common cause of acute bacterial gastroenteritis in the developed world. Although C. jejuni and C. coli account for the majority of these cases, C. lari has been described from about 30 cases in several countries over the last 20 years and this species has been shown to be a severe and potential pathogenic agent for humans, manifesting as gastroenteritis, diarrhea, septicemia and bacteremia. Campylobacter lari is most prevalently isolated from seagulls in the natural environment, followed by water and shellfish in several European countries and in one Asian country, Japan. The prevalence of poultry with C. lari has been demonstrated in Japan, the USA, England, Poland, Tanzania, Peru, Denmark, Kenya and Northern Ireland, indicating that contamination of poultry with this species is common and widespread. Moreover, C. lari has also been distributed in dogs, cats, pigs, cattle and sheep in several countries. Thus, the natural environment including wild birds and some domestic animals, mainly poultry, may be considered as important reservoirs of C. lari. This review aims at describing (i) the historical evolution of C. lari, (ii) its reservoirs for human infection, including the natural environment and zoonotic hosts, (iii) cases of human infection reported and (iv) its pathogenesis.