Campylobacter upsaliensis gastroenteritis in childhood

Background. Campylobacter upsaliensis can cause gastroenteritis and bactere mia, Data on its epidemiology and role in pediatric gastroenteritis are lim ited. Objective. To describe the incidence and clinical features of enteric C ups aliensis infection in children and to compare these with similar data for C ampylobacter jejuni. Design and methods. Medical records of all patients with enteric C. upsalie nsis infection between 1992 and 1999 at the Royal Children's Hospital, Melb ourne, were reviewed, A case-control study (age-matched 1:2) was performed to compare the severity of clinical disease and associated risk factors for infection with C. upsaliensis and C,jejuni, Results. Of 18 516 specimens 666 (3.6%) were positive for C. jejuni and 19 (0.1%) were positive for C. upsaliensis, Records were available for 18 pati ents with C, upsaliensis gastroenteritis (mean age, 1.6 years; median age, 1.3 years; range, 3 months to 7 years; 14 male). Eleven patients (61%) pres ented with acute and 7 (39%) with chronic or intermittent diarrhea, The cas e-control study showed that fever (P = 0.03), acute diarrhea (P = 0.05) and rectal bleeding (P = 0.0006) were significantly less common in C. upsalien sis than in C. jejuni infection. Conclusion. C. upsaliensis is a rare cause of gastroenteritis in young chil dren and, compared with C. jejuni infection, is associated with significant ly lower rates of fever, acute diarrhea and rectal bleeding.