Chickens blamed for illness

By MARTIN JOHNSTON, health reporter

Chicken dinners are receiving most of the blame for a huge rise in the number of people being hit by a debilitating stomach bug.

The number of reported cases of campylobacter infection shot up to 824 nationally in June, compared with 452 in June last year.

The increase is most marked in the upper North Island, especially in Auckland.

Outbreaks usually peak in spring and summer.

Dr Michael Baker, of the Institute of Environmental Science and Research, said yesterday that if the rate of infection continued the country would surpass the worst year yet for the disease, 1998, when 11,578 cases were reported.

Campylobacter infection is New Zealand's most commonly reported notifiable infectious disease.

About 10,000 cases a year are reported, but not everyone needs medical attention for it, and researchers estimate that the total number of cases tops 110,000 a year.

It is caused by campylobacter bacteria infection in water or food.

The symptoms are mainly diarrhoea - which can contain blood - abdominal cramps and fever, but can also include vomiting, headache and muscular pain.

The illness usually lasts a week, but about a quarter of patients have relapses.

It can lead to peripheral nerve damage, arthritis and even death, but this is rare.

Patients should drink water to avoid dehydration. Antibiotics are given in severe cases.

The number of reported cases in Waikato rose from 26 in May to 69 in June. In Northland, the rise was from 15 to 31.

In Greater Auckland, the number of cases more than tripled, from 121 in June last year to 424 this June. Last month there were 412 cases.

Auckland Public Health staff were investigating the causes, said public health physician Dr Greg Simmons.

The increase was being attributed to established reasons, such as chicken and other poultry.

"That's the biggest risk factor," said Dr Simmons.

American health authorities say surveys have shown that between 20 and 100 per cent of retail raw chicken is contaminated with the bug.

"Even one drop of juice from raw chicken meat can infect a person," says the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr Simmons said contamination also occurred in beef and other meats, but was less common than in chicken.

Other risk factors included contact with animals and drinking unpasteurised milk or untreated water.

nzherald.co.nz/health