Campylobacter from chicks

[PurpleChicken]

Has anyone here ever caught campylobacter from their
chickens. We have 32 chicks varying from 1 to 5 weeks old.
My wife got very ill this past weekend and ended up in
the emergency room. The tests came back a few days later
as campylobacter infection. She works at the same hospital
and the doctor and other nurses thought she probably
caught it from a patient. However, after studying campylobacter
it seems like too much of a coincidence that we have new
chickens she gets sick.

Neither myself or my six year old son have had any problems
and we have a much higher exposure than my wife. We have the
sanitizer next to the brooder and wash our hands constantly.

I would really appreciate anyones experience and/or opinions on
this.

 

[chickbea]

I know very little about it, but it is generally considered a food-borne illness. Otherwise, I think you need to come in contact with the feces in order to be infected. If you are all washing up well after being with the chickens, I don't think they were the cause. Did your wife eat somewhere that you didn't prior to becoming sick?

 

[Newchickenmom&kids]

Found this on the net:

How do people get infected with this germ?

Campylobacteriosis usually occurs in single, sporadic cases, but it can also occur in outbreaks, when a number of people become ill at one time. Most cases of campylobacteriosis are associated with handling raw poultry or eating raw or undercooked poultry meat. A very small number of Campylobacter organisms (fewer than 500) can cause illness in humans. Even one drop of juice from raw chicken meat can infect a person. One way to become infected is to cut poultry meat on a cutting board, and then use the unwashed cutting board or utensil to prepare vegetables or other raw or lightly cooked foods. The Campylobacter organisms from the raw meat can then spread to the other foods. The organism is not usually spread from person to person, but this can happen if the infected person is a small child or is producing a large volume of diarrhea. Larger outbreaks due to Campylobacter are not usually associated with raw poultry but are usually related to drinking unpasteurized milk or contaminated water. Animals can also be infected, and some people have acquired their infection from contact with the infected stool of an ill dog or cat.


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How does food or water get contaminated with Campylobacter?

Many chicken flocks are silently infected with Campylobacter; that is, the chickens are infected with the organism but show no signs of illness. Campylobacter can be easily spread from bird to bird through a common water source or through contact with infected feces. When an infected bird is slaughtered, Campylobacter can be transferred from the intestines to the meat. More than half of the raw chicken in the United States market has Campylobacter on it. Campylobacter is also present in the giblets, especially the liver.

Unpasteurized milk can become contaminated if the cow has an infection with Campylobacter in her udder or the milk is contaminated with manure. Surface water and mountain streams can become contaminated from infected feces from cows or wild birds. This infection is common in the developing world, and travelers to foreign countries are also at risk for becoming infected with Campylobacter.

 

[PurpleChicken]

"If you are all washing up well after being with the chickens, I don't think they were the cause."
I tend to agree but they are in our kitchen and very friendly. They spend a lot
of time on us and do poop a lot. We are careful


"Did your wife eat somewhere that you didn't prior to becoming sick?"
Yes she did. The incubation of 2 to 5 days leaves so much room
for possibilities of infection, especially since she works in a hospital.
We've had 9 chicks for almost 4 weeks with no problems. I got a second
shipment of 26 on 4/24 from a hatchery so my mind started going crazy.