In the UK and US, where there is significant public awareness of the condition, C. jejuni is regarded as a major contributor to employee absenteeism. It is estimated that 2 million working days per year are lost in the UK due to gastroenteritis caused by C. jejuni. Symptoms of C. jejuni infection usually include diarrhoea, fever, nausea, vomiting and abdominal cramps, which are often severe enough to mimic appendicitis. Enteritis most often results from consumption of untreated milk or water, or via consumption of undercooked poultry meat. Weakness and numbness progress to a paralysis, which may involve respiratory muscles.
Months can elapse before the patient's recovery begins.
In most cases of GBS, a link with C. jejuni infection is suspected. The rapid test to detect C. jejuni strains that the research team of Dr. Anthony Moran and Dr. Martina Prendergast of the Department of Microbiology in NUI, Galway have developed, eliminates the need to grow large quantities of organism and substantially reduces the time needed for strain characterisation. The research team is also investigating safety issues in the development of a C. jejuni vaccine. Striking images of UCD are captured in a realistic and thoughtful study of daily life in the University during 1999 and the year 2000.