*Rate per 100,000 population based on the U.S. Census Bureau’s population data as of July 1, 2003
Campylobacteriosis is a bacterial diarrheal disease usually transmitted through raw or undercooked foods of animal origin or foods cross-contaminated by animal food products or feces. It can also be transmitted by untreated or contaminated water or through person-to-person transmission via the fecal-oral route. In Indiana, the following risk factors are the most common: contact with pets (most commonly dogs and cats), chicken consumption within five days prior to illness, contact with someone with similar symptoms, travel outside of Indiana, contact with untreated water, and contact with livestock.
In 2003, there were 553 cases of campylobacteriosis reported in Indiana, indicating a rate of 8.9 cases per 100,000 population (Table 1). This represents an 8 percent increase in reported cases compared to 2002 (511). Figure 1 shows reported cases by year for 1999-2003. Incidence of disease was greatest during the summer months. Figure 2 shows cases per month for 2003. As shown in Figure 3, age-specific rates were greatest for infants under the age of 1 year (29.8), followed by preschoolers aged 1-4 years (13.6), and adults aged 30-39 years (10.4). Males (9.8) were more likely to be reported than females (7.9), while six cases did not report gender data. The rate for whites (7.0) was higher than that for blacks (3.4) or other races (1.9); however, 146 cases (26%) did not report race data.
The incidence rates were highest among the following counties reporting five or more cases: Steuben (32.6), Madison (27.5), Harrison (22.7), Ripley (22.0), and Dearborn (21.1). Figure 4 shows counties reporting five or more cases of campylobacteriosis in 2003. There were no outbreaks of campylobacteriosis reported in Indiana in 2003.
You can learn more about campylobacteriosis by visiting the following Web site: