CAMPYLOBACTER INFECTIONS PREVAILENT TO CHILDREN IN SUB SAHARAN COUNTRIES.

Campylobacter is a genus of bacteria that are a major cause of gastroenteritis throughout the world. Infection occurs mainly following consumption of contaminated undercooked poultry or contaminated water. Usually the later is very common among children in Sub Saharan due to the nature of majority’s life styles where children have to spend an average of more than half a day playing in livers, lakes and ponds of dirty water .There are no artificial facilities to aid children in acquiring funny and hence they usually have to utilize the natural readily available facilities like rivers, they play on piles of soil which is in contrast to children in developed counties where you could find children accompanied by parents and school teachers to the recreation places .They usually ’ve special facilities that aid the process like swimming pools and vests, swinging places . In addition to that the life style among people is another great challenge since there is no any care given by parents to the children just after they are grown enough to stay home when parents go for daily economic and social activities. Therefore they are at risk of being victims of various accidents and infections like campylobacter infection when they make in appropriate choice on how to spend their day hours.

• A proportion of cases occur following contact with contaminated water during recreational activities

The most common general symptoms of campylobacter infection to children include

• Diarrhea,
• Abdominal pain,
• Fever,
• Headache,
• Nausea and vomiting.

Symptoms usually start 2–5 days after infection, and last for 3–6 day

I choose this genus of Campylobacter infections because are generally mild but can be fatal among very young children and elderly and immunosuppressed individual.

Currently there are 17 species under this genus of which most frequently reported in human are Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli .Other species such as Campylobacter lari and Campylobacter upsaliensis

Campylobacteriosis is the disease caused by the infection with Campylobacter:

Death from Campylobacteriosis is rare and is usually confined to very young children or elderly patients, or to those already suffering from another serious disease such as AIDS.

Sources and transmission

Campylobacter species are widely distributed in most warm-blooded animals. They are prevalent in food animals such as poultry, cattle, pigs, sheep and ostriches; and in pets, including cats and dogs. The bacteria have also been found in shellfish. The main route of transmission is generally believed to be foodborne, via undercooked meat and meat products, as well as raw or contaminated milk.

Contaminated water or ice is also a source of infection.

Treatment

Treatment is not generally required, except electrolyte replacement and rehydration. Antimicrobial treatment is recommended in invasive cases (when bacteria invade the intestinal mucosa cells and damage the tissues) or to eliminate the carrier state (the condition of people who harbour Campylobacter in their bodies and keep shedding the bacteria while remaining asymptomatic).

         
    
To the fellow parents in Tanzania and other Sub Saharan counties.

1. Parents have to fully play the parental role by making sure that children spend their day at the right places, keep them away from dirty water ponds.
2. Feed your children with properly cooked food as one of the major mode of transmission of Campylobacteriosis is eating under cooked food
3. Good hygienic slaughtering practices reduce the contamination of carcasses by faeces, but will not guarantee the absence of Campylobacter from meat and meat products. Training in hygienic food handling for abattoir workers and raw meat producers is essential to keep contamination to a minimum.
4. Bactericidal treatment, such as heating (for example, cooking or pasteurization) or irradiation, is the only effective method of eliminating Campylobacter from contaminated foods.