ABSTRACT
Campylobacter species are among the most common causes of bacterial gastroenteritis worldwide (1). These microaerophilic gram-negative bacteria were first isolated from samples collected from aborting ewes in 1906 in the United Kingdom (2), where the development and use of selective culture media in the 1970s (3,4) led to the recognition that Campylobacter is a leading cause of human diarrheal illness in many countries (5,6). Since the establishment of the genus Campylobacter in 1963 (7), at least 29 species have been proposed (Table 27.1).
