The genus Campylobacter: a decade of progress

Abstract

In 1977, microbiologists and clinicians were awakened to the importance of the genus Campylobacter when it was learned that one species, Campylobacter jejuni, was a major cause of human enteritis. In the following decade substantial advances were made in diagnosis, isolation technology, identification, classification, serotyping, and epidemiology. The genus has undergone rapid expansion as advantage was taken of the deoxyribonucleic acid-deoxyribonucleic acid hybridization technique in defining new species. The 14 species now included in the genus, however, constitute a widely diverse group, and one species, C. pylori, which is associated with human gastroduodenitis, is under consideration for reassignment to another genus. The nomenclature of the subspecies of C. fetus has been resolved and the role of C. fetus subsp. fetus as an agent of human infections has been more clearly defined. The thermophilic campylobacteria that are etiological agents of human enteritis now include three species, C. jejuni, C. coli, and C. laridis. Recently defined species that have also been implicated as enteritis-causing agents include C. hyointestinalis, "C. upsaliensis," "C. cinaedi," and "C. fennelliae." The aerotolerant campylobacteria are now included in the species C. cryaerophila, and the campylobacteria isolated from salt marshes are included in C. nitrofigilis. The taxonomy and nomenclature of C. sputorum have been revised. C. sputorum now consists of three biovars (biotypes). Two of these, biovar sputorum and biovar bubulus, were previously considered to be separate subspecies and the third, biovar fecalis, was previously regarded as a separate species and known as "C. fecalis." The former subspecies C. sputorum subsp. mucosalis has been elevated to the rank of species. C. mucosalis is metabolically closely related to C. consisus. Human pathogens have not been identified among C. sputorum, C. mucosalis, or C. concisus. The goal of this article is to review developments during the last 10 years with emphasis on changes in taxonomy that are important from the perspective of the clinical microbiologist.

Arcobacter cryaerophilusand thermophilic campylobacters in a sewage treatment plant in Italy: two secondary treatments compared

“…cryaerophilu-s bacteria, typical of animal habitats, found in this plant's predominantly urban sewage with little livestock waste: the high number could be due to the daily high discharge from the municipal slaughterhouse (mainly cattle and pigs); these bacteria have seldom been reported in man [20], are of unknown pathogenesis and clinical significance, but could be more frequent than routine clinical tests have demonstrated to date. As Penner reported [24], this species may pass undetected in man, as the search for campylobacter in faeces does not require enrichment and plates are incubated at a temperature (42°C) which does not allow growth of A. cryaerophilus.…”

Antibiotic susceptibility of campylobacter isolates from sewage and poultry abattoir drain water

“…Discrimination between the closely related species, C. jejuni, C. coli, and C. lari on the basis of phenotypic characteristics was time consuming and not always correct [15,16]. A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique based on species-specific 23S rRNA fragments has been developed which may be suitable for rapid speciation of campylobacter strains [17].…”

Campylobacter insulaenigrae sp. nov., isolated from marine mammals

“…In 1963, this organism was transferred to the newly proposed genus Campylobacter (Sebald & Véron, 1963). During the 1970s, a renewed interest in Campylobacter followed the recognition of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli as a cause of diarrhoea in humans (Cooper & Slee, 1971;Dekeyser et al, 1972) and campylobacters soon became recognized as the commonest bacterial cause of enteritis (Griffiths & Park, 1990;Penner, 1988). In addition, the implementation of improved phylogenetic methods of analysis permitted closer taxonomic scrutiny of these organisms, resulting in several novel species, and led to the proposal of rRNA superfamily VI of the Proteobacteria as including the genera Campylobacter, Helicobacter and Arcobacter (Vandamme et al, 1991).…”