--- title: How Campylobacter in poultry spreads so quickly date: 2023-03-31T14:52:00-07:00 author: Julie Dueck canonical_url: "https://marlerclark.com/news_events/how-campylobacter-in-poultry-spreads-so-quickly" section: News --- [All News](/news_events) / [Case News](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news) / # How Campylobacter in poultry spreads so quickly *Campylobacter* (camp-UH-low-back-ter) is a genus of bacteria that is among the most common causes of bacterial infections in humans worldwide. Since 1992, food remains the most common vehicle for the spread of *Campylobacter*, and chicken is the most common food implicated. Commercially raised poultry is nearly always colonized with *Campylobacter.* Slaughterhouse procedures amplify contamination, and chicken and turkey in supermarkets, ready for consumers to take home, is frequently contaminated. Slaughter and processing provide opportunities for reducing *Campylobacter* counts on food-animal carcasses. Bacterial counts on carcasses can increase during slaughter and processing steps. Most *Campylobacter* infections in humans are caused by the consumption of contaminated food or water. The infective dose — that is, the number of bacteria that must be ingested to cause illness — is relatively small. Ingestion of as few as 500 organisms, an amount that can be found in one drop of chicken juice, has been shown to cause human infection. *Campylobacter jejuni* grows poorly on properly refrigerated foods but survives refrigeration and will grow if contaminated foods are left out at room temperature. The bacterium is sensitive to heat and other common disinfection procedures; pasteurization of milk, adequate cooking of meat and poultry, and chlorination or ozonation of water will destroy this organism. ### Other Campylobacter Lawsuits [First Lawsuit Filed in Campylobacter Outbreak at Wild Ginger](https://marlerclark.com/campylobacter-landing-page-template) [Campylobacter Outbreak Traced to Organic Pastures Raw Milk Cream](https://marlerclark.com/campylobacter-outbreak-traced-to-organic-pastures-raw-milk) [Your Family Cow Raw Milk Campylobacter Outbreak](https://marlerclark.com/your-family-cow-raw-milk-is-source-of-campylobacter-outbreak) [N. 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The team at Marler Clark is here to answer all your questions. Find out if you’re eligible for a lawsuit, what questions to ask your doctor, and more. [ Get a free consultation ](https://marlerclark.com/contact) ##### Related Resources ###### [Campylobacter Food Poisoning](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/campylobacter/about-campylobacter) What is Campylobacter? Campylobacter is a genus of bacteria that is among the most common causes of bacterial diarrheal illness in humans worldwide. The name means “curved rod,” derived from... ###### [The Incidence of Campylobacter Infections](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/campylobacter/campylobacter-incidence) How common is Campylobacter infection? Campylobacter species represent one of the most common causes of bacterial diarrheal illness worldwide. 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Not all Campylobacter infections cause obvious illness. Symptomatic infection occurs almost exclusively in infants and young children, who can be infected repeatedly... ##### Outbreak Database #### Looking for a comprehensive list of outbreaks? The team at Marler Clark is here to answer all your questions. Find out if you’re eligible for a lawsuit, what questions to ask your doctor, and more. [ View Outbreak Database ](https://outbreakdatabase.com)