WHAT REALLY CAUSES CAMPYLOBACTERIOSIS?
Campylobacter jejuni is the most frequent bacterial cause of gastroenteritis in the United States and frequently causes traveler’s diarrhea in both developed and developing countries. Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed to ban a therapeutic drug, enrofloxacin, from veterinary use in chickens in case such use might increase drug-resistant campylobacteriosis in humans. On March 1, 2002, Dr. Cox presented new data analyses in Boston, Massachusetts, indicating that eating chicken per se is not a risk factor for campylobacteriosis in the United States, contrary to widespread assumptions. Instead, it appears that restaurant dining is a risk factor, whether or not chicken is eaten, while chicken and other meats consumed at home are protective against campylobacteriosis. This finding has dramatic implications for how risks of campylobacteriosis should be managed. It suggests that banning enrofloxacin will have little or no human health benefit, but that better restau
