There has been a recent surge in human illnesses related to Campylobacter in Sweden, according to Folkhälsomyndigheten, the country’s public health agency.
According to a press release on the agency’s website, the increase in Campylobacter cases was preceded by an increase in the presence of Campylobacter in broiler flocks.
Since the end of July, the number of people infected with Campylobacter has averaged between 160 and 200 per week. While such infections are typically more common in the summer, the jump in cases is concerning to Folkhälsomyndigheten.
“In previous years, comparisons have been made of Campylobacter from fresh chicken brought in a store during the summer with Campylobacter from cases of human disease during the corresponding period. They have shown that about a third of the disease cases can be linked to fresh chicken meat. There is so much to suggest that the increase in cases in humans and the incidence in broiler flocks also now have a direct connection,” said Rikard Dryselius, Folkhälsomyndigheten investigator.
The Swedish health agency offers the following suggestions to reduce the likelihood of a Campylobacter infection:
- Be careful with hand hygiene, wash your hands before cooking, and immediately after handling raw meat and chicken.
- Keep raw chicken meat and other foods separate, especially ready-to-eat foods, such as vegetable salads.
- Wash cutting board and kitchen utensils carefully after cutting meat and chicken. Then you prevent bacteria from being transferred from one food to another via tools or work surfaces. Use a fairly strong jet of water when washing hands or rinsing dirty cutting boards and utensils to avoid splashes on surfaces, other foods in the kitchen and on you.
- Keep the workbench clean, wipe up meat juice with kitchen paper - not the dishcloth.
- Foods that may contain campylobacter must be prepared so that the whole meat reaches at least 70° C.
- Always fry chicken - then the bacteria that may be in it will die.
- Avoid drinking unpasteurized milk.
