What is the difference between campylobacteriosis and Guillain-Barre syndrome?

Campylobacter infections are among the most common bacterial infections in humans. They produce both diarrheal and systemic illnesses. In industrialized regions, enteric infection produces an inflammatory, sometimes bloody, diarrhea or dysentery syndrome.

Campylobacter jejuni is usually the most common cause of community-acquired inflammatory enteritis. In developing regions, the diarrhea may be watery.

Campylobacter-like organisms can produce an enterocolitis/proctocolitis syndrome in homosexual males. C jejuni may also produce serious bacteremic conditions in individuals with AIDS. Campylobacter fetus is an uncommon cause of bacteremia in hosts who are immunocompromised. Campylobacter lari, which is found in healthy seagulls, has also been reported to produce mild recurrent diarrhea in children. Campylobacter upsaliensis may cause diarrhea or bacteremia, while Campylobacter hyointestinalis causes occasional bacteremia in hosts who are immunocompromised.

Campylobacter organisms may also be an important cause of traveler's diarrhea, especially in Thailand and surrounding areas of Southeast Asia. In a study of American military personnel deployed in Thailand, more than half of those developing diarrhea were found to be infected with Campylobacter species.

These organisms are related to Helicobacter pylori, which was previously known as Campylobacter pylori. No reservoir other than the human gastric mucosa has been identified for H pylori.

Complications:


Toxic megacolon
Pseudomembranous colitis
Colonic hemorrhage
Hemolytic uremic syndrome
Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura
Postinfectious polyneuritis/Guillain-Barr茅 syndrome
Reactive arthritis
Reiter syndrome
Bacteremia

Endocarditis

Cholecystitis

Urinary tract infection

Pancreatitis

Stillbirths, septic abortions (C fetus)

Guillain-Barr茅 syndrome
may occur as a result of cross-immunoreactivity between human gangliosides GM1 and GD1a and C jejuni lipopolysaccharides. In one study, up to 25% of patients with Guillain-Barr茅 syndrome had stool cultures positive for C jejuni. However, the overall risk is quite small鈥攍ess than 1 case per 1000 C jejeni infections.

Guillain-Barr茅 syndrome (GBS)
is described most accurately as a collection of clinical syndromes manifested by an acute inflammatory polyradiculoneuropathy with resultant weakness and reflex changes. With poliomyelitis under control in developed countries, GBS is now the most important cause of acute flaccid paralysis. GBS remains a diagnosis made primarily by clinical history and findings. Though classically thought of as a demyelinating neuropathy with ascending weakness, many clinical variants have been well documented in the medical literature. Acute inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (AIDP) is the most widely recognized form in Western countries, but the recently described variants of acute motor axonal neuropathy (AMAN) and acute motor-sensory axonal neuropathy (AMSAN) also are well recognized. Many believe that strictly defined subgroups of GBS are not distinguished easily but that the subgroups exist, based on a clinical spectrum of symptoms and findings.