Campylobacter Enteritis: Prevention

To prevent campylobacter enteritis, attention must be paid to reducing risk factors.

Behavioral risk factors

  • Consumption of contaminated food:
    • Poultry meat (esp. chicken): including fondue chinoise; in which chicken is served at the table and cooked in a hot broth
    • Chicken eggs
    • Raw meat products such as minced meat (Mett)
    • Raw milk or raw milk cheese
    • Drinking water
  • Close contact with infected animals

Other risk factors

  • Warm season (high outdoor temperatures)

General prophylactic measures

  • Consistent personal hygiene, such as washing hands after going to the toilet (see below).
  • Consistent compliance with hygiene in the kitchen, especially when processing poultry (see below).
  • Thorough cooking of /poultry) meat.
  • Boiling raw milk
  • Untreated surface water should not be drunk.
  • Young children, the elderly, immunocompromised people should not eat raw animal foods.

Measures in slaughterhouses

  • Strict compliance with slaughter hygiene

General hygiene measures

Before preparing fresh food, hands must be washed with soap and water for at least 30 seconds! Furthermore, it is valid to wash food thoroughly before consumption, peel or also cook through (at least 2 minutes a core temperature of 70 °C in the food by heating by boiling, frying or pasteurizing). This rule should be followed especially in foreign countries and when the origin of the food is unknown.Freezing food, on the other hand, cannot completely kill Campylobacter, but only reduce the number of germs. Raw foods must always be rubbed under running water, regardless of location and origin.If necessary, use a vegetable brush for this purpose. Do not use a towel for drying, use paper kitchen towels only. Do not use wooden cutting boards (due to risk of bacterial colonization). To prevent fecal-oral infections, the following measures can protect:

  • Clean workplace regularly with hot water and detergent.
  • Wash hands with hot water and soap when cooking
  • Frequent change of dishwashing sponges and dishtowels.
  • Use only fresh raw eggs, such as for mayonnaise or tiramisu. Food containing eggs should be kept refrigerated and consumed as soon as possible.
  • Prepare salads and vegetables separately from meat and poultry.
  • Mirror or scrambled eggs should be heated until the yolk has coagulated, breakfast eggs should be cooked for at least five minutes
  • Defrost frozen game and poultry in the refrigerator and use a vessel that is easy to clean, dispose of thawing water immediately

In foreign countries, as far as hygiene standards are not met, the following rules should also be observed:

  • On raw milk and egg dishes, such as ice cream, pudding or mayonnaise and raw food products, such as salads, best to do without completely
  • Vegetables, meat, fish and seafood are free of pathogens if they are sufficiently heated (at least 2 minutes a core temperature of 70 ° C in the food)
  • Boil water before drinking
  • Refrain from fruit juices and ice cubes
  • Drink only from original sealed bottles