Log Cabin Democrat: Illness-causing bacterium rising 10/20/97

Published Monday, October 20, 1997

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Monday, October 20, 1997Illness-causing bacterium rising

Last modified at 11:38 a.m. on Monday, October 20, 1997

NEW YORK (AP) -- A type of bacteria that may sicken and sometimes kill people who eat undercooked chicken or turkey is becoming more common and is developing resistance to antibiotics, The New York Times said today.

Estimates put the number of cases of the disease caused by the germ campylobacter at 2 million to 8 million a year in the United States and deaths at 200 to 800, the Times said.

The illness usually lasts about a week and its symptoms include cramps, abdominal pain, bloody diarrhea and fever. It can be as severe as the disease caused by salmonella, another germ found in undercooked poultry, but causes fewer fatalities, according to Dr. Bert Bartleson of Washington state's Health Department.

Recent research also suggests that campylobacter may lead to the severe and sometime fatal nerve damage caused by Guillain-Barre syndrome.

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